


When The Road Darkens

by estel_of_the_eyrie



Category: His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman, The Lord of the Rings (Movies), The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Alterate Universe, Boromir lives!AU, Combining Book and Movie timelines, Crossover, F/M, Featuring some LOTRO references and elements, ImaginexHobbit, M/M, Self-Insert Fic, The Squad are all giant nerds, daemon!AU - Freeform, inspired by Determamfidd's headcanons, inspired by imaginexhobbit, so much research!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-21
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2018-05-08 05:46:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 26,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5485835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/estel_of_the_eyrie/pseuds/estel_of_the_eyrie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>... "Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens.' ~ Gimli; Lord of the Rings.<br/>Louise and Katharine are teens, thrown out of their depth when they're thrown from the world of A-levels and exams and Tumblr, into the world of Middle-Earth, and a suicidal mission to destroy the Ring with nine others.<br/>But they know. They know, what happens when the road darkens down the line.<br/>Their wills are to change the future, to save those who are worthy of being saved, but will they lose part of themselves along the way?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this fanfiction was inspired by an imagine from Tumblr blog imaginexhobbit:  
> http://imaginexhobbit.tumblr.com/post/132405603157/imagine-you-and-your-best-friend-being-sent-to  
> and with a conversation with my buddy Katharine about it :)  
> Yes, it is essentially self-insert, but who cares?  
> Enjoy!

Halloween. 9pm. Nuneaton.

Two girls walk down the mostly abandoned streets of the city in England. Well, I say girls, they were sixteen and eighteen respectively, yet in their element, both could act as if they were ten once again. With the fog settling around them, the world almost began an uneasy atmosphere for tomorrow's early morning commuters, which would include them both - Sixth Form and the next stage of education meant catching a train a 7:30 in the morning for a 9am start.

But with the stress of A-levels ignored for once, the two laughed and sang as they walked back to the train station. For once, they would act as merry as they wished, without the passers-by thinking down upon the insanity of their nerdy ways.

Katharine and Louise were not like most of their peers. For one, while many had gone to the Halloween party dressed as the usual spooky figures - ghosts, witches and the like - the two had arrived dressed as Ezio Auditore and Evie Frye, two characters from Assassin's Creed. Katharine as the Italian Assassin from _Two_ , the white beaked-hood standing out in the night, almost reflecting all of the light emitted from the streetlamps that lined their paths, the many belts and decorations that littered the outfit glimmering within the faint lights. From a distance it could also appear to be a ghost in the night, the fog around the pair further implying the idea.

Louise, however, was wearing the complete opposite colour scheme. The jet black hooded Victorian-styled coat of Evie from _Syndicate_ was paired with the official cane sword in her hands, and the gauntlet and hidden blade around her arm. Walking with her hood up made Louise appear to be furious and determined and on a mission, and as such, she had people almost jumping out of her path all night. For someone who was practically described as 'a pure cinnamon roll', this really made her night, every so often making a mental note to wear the outfit to Comic Con in two weeks time.

For two happy and optimistic teens walking back through the city after a joyful party at a friend's house, it looked as if nothing would be any different for them; they would go home, then back to college the next day and their monotonous cycle would repeat for another year or two.

Clicking the button on her phone, Louise changed the music that was blaring through the one headphone in her ear, changing the melodies from _The Breaking of the Fellowship_ to _One Day More._ It was one of those songs, which as soon as she heard it Louise couldn't help but hum and eventually sing along, something she's picked up when studying for BTEC Music in Year Nine.

Not even a minute into the song from Les Miserables, Katharine had had enough. While Louise began to full on sing the different parts, she reached to grab her phone and put on the one song she knew would annoy her friend more than anything.

As Louise took a breath, Katharine pressed the play button...

The devil's glare from Louise was instant. But at least it shut her up. In the quiet streets, the cheesy techno 1980s music was clear. And as much as they both _loathed_ the song, before long both were belting out the rickroll at the top of their lungs.

"Never going to give you up, never gonna let you down!" The words flowed up and down the streets, mixed in with their slightly delirious laughter.

As the song ended, their laughter got ever more out of control, with both of them eventually having tears flowing down their faces; one look at the other person sent them both into more giggles meaning they had to stop in their tracks in order to get their breath back.

Once Katharine and Louise were once again acting like perfectly sane people, they looked around. Despite going to college in Nuneaton for over a year now, neither of the pair really strayed far from the path to and from the college, so gazing down the darkened streets, Louise had no idea where they were. Had they taken a wrong turning? Were they both on the right path, but with the fog so thick now, could no longer see the turning that they needed to take to get to the train station? While Louise would have wanted to say that her mind would immediately go to find a solution, she really began saying the word 'fuck' over and over again in her brain. She _knew_ her geography was poor, and the fog wasn't really helping.

It didn't help either, that Katharine was relying on her for directions back, just because she was the oldest out of the two.

"Well this is the _last_ time we follow my stupid sense of direction." she said, huffing as she turned to Katharine, pushing down the hood that had been hiding her eyes.

Katharine folded her arms. "You mean 'lack of'?" Her friend stuck her tongue out towards her, and could help but laugh.

"You mean little shit."

"It's true, though."

Louise huffed again. "I don't give a rat's arse if it's true, it's still mean."

A cold wind blew through the street, the world signalling the beginning of the winter season and freezing the two as they stood there. Both were aware that if they stayed, something much worse than freezing might happen.

Looking around, Katharine could see the outline of some trees that she thought was a familiar park.

"Louise, isn't there a park near where the Sixth Form is?" She asked, and Louise turned to glance in the same direction. From the low visibility the trees could have been any.

"I don't know, to be honest," she began, sighing. "But I'm exhausted. How the hell could Evie fight in heeled boots anyway?!"

Katharine scoffs. Louise wore heeled boots most days and could actually run better in them than trainers. "You hypocrite."

Louise rolled her eyes. "I'm aware, thank you very much." She replied, laughing airily. "But you still won't see me running to Mordor and back in these."

A brief moment followed as she tried to make a rational decision. "Shall we just walk over there, and the worst thing that can happen is we need to get Google maps up?"

Katharine shrugged. "Why not?"

And so, they both found themselves walking over towards the tree line at the edge of what they hopefully thought was the field near their college.

The walk was littered with random typical nerdy conversations, in an attempt to kill the time it took to walk over there.

When Katharine and Louise had eventually reached the trees, they looked back - which was pointless as the fog was now so thick they could barely see ten meters in any one direction. "Well this sucks." Katharine huffed and folded her arms, both cold and annoyed that they couldn't see in such weather.

The supposedly more mature eighteen-year-old standing beside her nodded. "I know. But we've got to keep going; we'll miss the last train at th-" A quiet howl sounded in the air, and like usual, Louise freaked out.

Katharine, _as usual_ didn't take her seriously.

"Holy hell, Louise, calm down." Katharine responded, laughing at her friend, who was glancing around them a little bit apprehensive. "It's probably just a dog somewhere."

The howl sounded again, louder this time, but it also seemed to conjure the very winds into howling with it.

"Fine. But I still don't like it; can we just _go already?!"_ Louise said, already walking down the line of trees. By the time Katharine realised, Louise was almost out of sight.

As they walked, Louise in silence unless prompted to talk, the howls of the 'dogs' continued. It seemed that while they walked away, what Katharine thought was a dog was following them, and at a much faster pace than at which they walked.

But the pair didn't realise anything was wrong until the howls were almost deafening.

Louise stopped dead in her tracks, Katharine almost slamming straight into her. "Katharine, I don't think that sounds like dogs." She said, quiet. "It's too distinctive."

Puzzled she looked at her friend, going to ask about what she actually meant, but the howls behind them had been replaced with a higher-pitched screeching noise.

"Anyone else thinking of _Until Dawn_ right now?" Louise asked, her voice tight and her gaze unwavering from what she was already looking at.

"That's _really_ not helping. At all!" Katherine blurted, her own fear now coming to light. Suddenly she didn't seem as sure; was the screech coming from something more than just a simple stray dog? Was it even real? The wind? Neither of them was entirely sure, but it still put them both on edge.

The screech echoed once again, with possibly another two or three sounding in response, and both of them were big enough nerds to remember that. They both turned; taking one glance at one another, back at what was chasing them, they both started to run down the path.

"Do you remember how to get rid of them?!" Louise shouted, almost falling behind. Why the _hell_ did Katharine think that running 5K every Saturday morning was a sensible idea?! Well, know she knew the answer.

"Louise, do I _look_ like I've got a lighter on me?!" Katharine yelled back. Taking a brief glance at what she thought was a safe time to look back at what was chasing them, was what probably got them into trouble.

If it really was the supposed _Wendigo_ chasing the pair of them, surely it would have caught the pair of them by that point; confused, Louise glanced over her shoulder, to truly see if it was indeed the mythological creature chasing them. The fog was too thick, she couldn't see. But she did come to the realisation that if it was a Wendigo, then wouldn't staying still have deterred it from chasing them?

 _What if it was something else that sounded familiar, but was thought to be fictional?_ The idea made her feel sick, as there was only one, _very big problem_ if what the alternative was chasing them.

The screech sounded again, and they both flinched. _Yep._ Katharine thought. _We're both screwed._

Not looking at where she was running, Katharine didn't see the root sticking up in the path before them.

So naturally her foot got caught. Falling forwards, Louise ended up running into her in shock, sending them both tumbling down into the dirt below; the pair collapsed in a heap at the bottom of a small ridge within the forest, that neither of them had noticed before then, due to the fog that still surrounded them.

They both stayed where they fell, silent in fear, and when the period of time had passed where their anxiety had decreased astronomically, the air was filled with exclamations of pain from the two. Louise, was in, no doubt the most amount of discomfort, having being landed on by her dear friend, and also landing upon the cane sword, the hilt of which was pressing quite harshly into her ribs.

"Okay, I know you're my best friend and all," she began, breathlessly, still sprayed out across the floor, "but. Get. Off!"

Moving slowly, still slightly disorientated, Katharine eventually moves away, allowing for Louise to gradually rise into a kneeling position, huffing as she stares at the cane sword in the dirt.

"I think I get what you were saying about bringing the bloody thing along, now." was her response, sighing once more before reaching forwards to collect it and rise to her feet. Three feet away, Katharine was already standing, and looking around the clearing with annoyance.

"Thank god, I thought I'd never get through to you." She huffed, "But. Where do we go now?" Turning to look at the incline they'd fallen down, Katharine looked it over before continuing. "There's no way we're going to be able to climb back up this, and still get to the train station on time."

"Great, that's _fantastic_!" Came the sarcastic response. "You know, we could always keep walking, and see if we can find a path, or _someone else_ to tell us where the bloody train station is." Louise responded, reaching into her pocket for the phone; upon finding it, she switched it on. No signal. _Weird. There's usually some, even in the middle of nowhere._

The light from the screen brought Katharine's attention back to her friend. "Alright. We'll just do that. But what happens when we miss the train?"

Louise scoffs, before beginning to walk. "We'll cross that bridge when we find it. Right now, let's just focus on finding the edge of this bloody misty blanket."

"Poetic."

 _You're the one that's friends with a writer,_ she thought. Louise rolled her eyes, before switching on the torch-feature upon her phone. Though the effect was minimal due to the weather, it still gave some extra visibility compared to what was before. Upon seeing this, Katharine did the same.

" _Until Dawn,_ anyone?" Katharine pondered, walking off in the opposite direction that they had arrived in; after a few moments registering what she'd said, Louise gave one last glance towards the hill behind them. Shivering at the thought of having to wait and meet what was indeed following them, and jogged to catch up with her friend.

A brief moment of silence, before -

"Seriously, though. _Until Dawn?!_ "


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's a little bit of a New Year's Day gift for you all! I hope you all have a superb 2016, and expect some lovely writings heading your way.
> 
> A minor filler chapter, but I still believe it gives some character development to the pair. Is it sad, that part way through writing this chapter I began to analyse some of the key aspects - clothing, hair colour, weapons and the like - to infer their personalities and later decisions. The glorious life of an English Literature student. :)
> 
> Any questions or reviews are gratefully received :) and any headcanons or ideas portrayed may be incorporated later on!

It had been a long while since the pair had begun walking; both phones were now dead, and with neither teen wearing a watch, they couldn't tell what time it was exactly. "I'm not whining about the situation or anything, but I kind of hoped that we'd have run into Rami Malek by now." Katharine whined, bored and disappointed about their current situation.

"Really? I never would have guessed. But I'd prefer to see a train station, if I'm honest." Louise replied, the ridicule evident in her words; also irritated by the situation all she really wanted to do was just _go home,_ and she knew, if they were late, they'd never hear the end of it - both from their parents and their friends.

Also, heeled boots and cross country trekking? Never a good combination.

But despite the exhaustion, Katharine and Louise were still apprehensive; were they still being followed? How far had they walked? Neither knew, and eventually, Louise had enough. Upon passing a sturdy tree root jutting above the ground, Louise dragged herself over and practically collapsed upon it, her body weight resting against the older Oak tree. The root was roughly ten to twelve inches thick; aged and weathered through the times that had come before, it seemed to radiate its history through the grooves within its bark, and the way it went practically unnoticed throughout the woodland, with trees both similar and different portraying ways in which they had been weathered by time. Yet it was pivotal, the tree, and in its prime would have been a place of worship, yet in the modern world was hidden from daily sight.

Louise closed her eyes, lent closer against the bark, and with her left temple resting against the bark as if listening for the story of the nature around her, relaxed, her whole body almost appearing to lose some of the tension brought upon her in the last few hours since leaving home.

With the crunching leaves underfoot beginning to quieten, Katharine paused and turned around to look at her friend there. She did nothing but gaze for a minute or two; in the silence she went over their actions, as something felt _very_ wrong.

Firstly, they should have been able to get close to civilisation by now; Nuneaton was small, in comparison to England as a whole, and in the time Katharine estimated that they had spent walking, they could have walked home by that point. Which was saying something, as the car journey was well over half an hour alone, so walking that distance was an extraordinary feat.

Secondly, the fog had lifted. Which Katharine couldn't actually remember occurring; at one point she and Louise had simply walked and the fog had mostly gone - and was now removed from the air entirely, as if wiped from existence as if it had never happened.

The relatively noisy rustling of her surroundings brought Katharine out of her thoughts, causing her to glance about. Nothing was there, but as she turned her gaze to back where Louise was sitting, she could have sworn that there was something almost golden in colour hiding away in the background, contrasting greatly with the deeper browns and moss greens that littered the ground, but was too bright, too clear for the radiant auburn reds and the warmer, enthusiastic oranging leaves in the canopy above their heads.

"I know you're staring." Louise spoke, out of the blue, eyes still shut. "But I'm tired, and the tree is comfortable."

Katharine crossed her arms, before slowly walking forwards; at the sound of the rustling leaves beneath her friend's feet, she peeled open her eyes. Louise first appeared to be staring at Katharine in a weird way, which her friend naturally dismissed as her usual half-awake staring; but when she sat bolt upright, all traces of exhaustion gone, she knew something was up.

Quite _literally_ up.

"Katharine, how long would you guess that we've been walking for?" Louise queried, her hazel eyes not moving from the cascade of colours that littered the canopy; Katharine shrugged.

"No idea. I'm not a miracle worker." She replied. "But if I had to guess, then maybe about an hour?"

Louise nodded slightly, but the tension then returned to her features. "Then it'd be around ten at night, then?" Katharine nods in response. "Then why, is the sky fully lit like it was midday?" She said, standing up.

Following her friend's gaze, and sure enough, through the leaves and thinner branches above she could see small points of the sky - the _light blue_ sky. How?! They couldn't have possibly walked so far that they'd entered another time zone, England was an _island_ for heaven's sake! Had they both fallen asleep by mistake? Was it actually lights from somewhere near? The train station?

Neither wanted to know, but both were now more apprehensive than they'd ever felt.

No phones, no sense of direction and now, no idea where they were.

"Shit." Was all they could honestly fully think about saying, it was all they could fully comprehend right now. Their minds drifted to the situation, how they would get home, both taking completely different routes; Louise firstly, completely went away from the reasonable, thinking about the thousand and one ways that they both could be murdered and never seen again if any one of them actually came true. Katharine, on the other side of the scale, was thinking about what to do next, whether it would be more sensible to walk back to where they were before being chased and just borrowing a phone.

Everything would be much simpler, if they just left earlier like they'd wanted to, but the whole conversation about missing the traffic now brought this upon them.

A sharp, piercing sound of a snapped twig brought their attention back to their surroundings, and both turned around to look at the seemingly empty surroundings. The tall, noble oaks littered the paths, their dying crisp leaves continuing to rain down upon the ground, but nothing there really appeared out of the ordinary. But something still seemed wrong.

Katharine had eventually turned back around, instead turning to check her phone once more - maybe there was a _smidge_ of battery left in that thing - but Louise kept looking; as bad with directions as she was, the teen was more profound at being observant with their surroundings. She continued to stare, almost entirely sure that something was wrong about what she could see, that there was something hiding away from them. Even if it was just a stray animal, the idea of the unknown in that situation increased her anxiety massively.

 

The sound was heard once more, in the same direction as observed the first time, and while looking for the source, Louise was almost certain that she saw a glimmer of something golden flying against the wind flickering between the trees in the distance. _Surely that means something is keeping tabs on us?_ she thought, still staring at the place the unknown golden stream had disappeared in.

Something suddenly voiced itself within her head, the pygmy section of her conscious responsible for her impulsive decisions (that normally ended _very_ badly) urging her to go and follow it. To see what it was for herself. The nerdy section of her brain was immediately reminded of _Alice in Wonderland_ , but she was probably looking for something nerdy to reference.

"Once more unto the breach, my friends" she muttered in a low voice, unaware that Katharine could hear perfectly what she was saying.

"Heard that, Alice." She responded, not bothering to look up, and only doing so when she heard begin to run. Not wanting to remain sitting alone in the middle of nowhere, Katharine was soon following.

"What the _hell_ are you doing?!" she hissed as she caught up, Louise still heading towards where the gold was last seen. "I didn't realise we were charging into the Battle of Agincourt."

Louise rolls her eyes. "Took you long enough to get the reference."

"Well, not all of us read Shakespeare for fun." The snarky comment resulted in a shove. Both laughed at one another, but the laughs were forced, with Louise's appearing to be slightly hysterical in her underlying stress.

When they'd wandered over to the trees close to where the colour vanished out of sight, they stopped. _Nothing. Again._

"This is getting on my nerves, if I've got to be honest." Louise huffed, folding her arms across her chest. "Whatever that was needs to decide if they want to be found or not."

The twig snapped again. Even closer.

Louise smiled proudly, not entirely sure whether she was proud of herself or whatever they were chasing, but proud - and a little relieved - that the pair of them were going to _finally_ get to the bottom of this. A tiny smile, though less strained than before, flourished upon her face, there was still apprehension behind it.

Sure, she _wanted_ to know what was there, but it still didn't guarantee that it would be friendly.

The noise moved even closer. The two girls shared a glance before furtively walking towards the noise. With it supposedly the other side of the hedge, it didn't move. Walking around, one heading one way, and the second the other, to find that what was following them,

_was a wild rabbit._

They both huffed. "Well that was anticlimactic." Katharine muttered, half-hearted glaring at Louise, who was swearing profusely under her breath, walking away.

 "Well that's just brilliant!" Louise exclaimed, kicking a loose stone into the distance and out of sight. The abrupt noise brought the grey animal out of its stupor, causing it to flee into the wild.

"I don't really know what you were expecting, to be honest." came the reply. "What do we do now?"

Louise shrugged; having spent most of the last few minutes thinking about what that bloody noise was, she now had no idea about the current plan. What _were_ they going to do?

A second noise, a more wooden and unanticipated sound echoed throughout the woodland. For Katharine, it was the idea that they were both going crazy, hearing things in their exhaustion; for Louise, who could quite easily know what action created the sound, was more panicked than she had been before.

Katharine huffed, howling between clenched teeth, "What is it _now?!"_ she exclaimed, moving to turn and look. But Louise grabbed onto her arm; before anyone could say anything, it sounded again, and the rabbit ran back, hopping passed the two teens and into the direction they had arrived.

"...Odd." Katharine muttered, watching it flee from whatever had spooked it. Louise, like the last time, was slowly advancing on the noise. Katharine pinched the bridge of her nose when she finally noticed. "What. Are. You. _Doing?!"_

"Having a look." Louise simply stated, not bothering to look back. "I think I know what the sound was."

"Oh, like last time?" Katharine's voice was _full_ of sarcasm.

"... Shut up. _That,_ was a genuine mistake." Louise huffed "Besides, I do actually have a guess this time. It was -"

The sound, now closer than ever, sounded like a whip crack. In the split moment in which they had both registered the sound, an arrow flew through the air to embed itself in the tree nearest the girl wearing white.

Both flinched wildly at the noise, jumping away from the tree in response; Katharine crying out in alarm, Louise swearing without a second thought.

Edging slowly away from the tree, neither noticed anything else in the surroundings joining them.

Well, not until they had arrows aimed at their heads. _Another_ broken twig made them turn to find the arrowheads not more than an inch from their noses, and fear made their words died in their throats. Besides the two that had weapons aimed at their heads, there were at least another five or six, who were coaxed from the shadows in all directions once their companions had been discovered.

Katharine looked around them, while all Louise had eyes for was the possible projectile aimed at her throat. The teen in white noticed almost immediately that the new arrivals all looked very similar in their clothing choices; mostly moss green and a typical woodland brown, with riding boots to the knee. Accompanied by a bow and quiver upon their backs, each also wore something that resembled an old hunting cloak, something that both girls would have recognised from both the historical fictions they read as well as tales like _Game of Thrones_ or _Lord of the Rings._

Louise, upon noticing this, had subconsciously made her eyes flicker to the throat fastenings of the cloaks, as if expecting to see the _Lorien_ leaf brooches they both recognised. The fastenings were bare on many, but one or two of those nearby, including the one aiming the arrow pointed at Louise, had a six-pointed star fasted upon theirs, the only ornamental item visible.

After a moment of a tense silence between the parties, one of the newcomers, who appeared the tallest, removed his cloak hood from where it was obscuring their face and stepped forward; in retaliation - and also as a precaution - both teens stepped back once or twice, still weary of the other five.

Upon the hood moving from view, both could distinguish quite an interesting tale from their - no, _his_ \- features; the long golden hair that seemed to unravel from how it was tucked away, tumbling down to his waist (Katharine made a mental suggestion that this is what she'd seen before) and lightly blowing in the wind, which appeared to gently caress the strands paying it with as much care as they would with some dearly precious.

His eyes were a lot older than he appeared to be. Towering over the pair at what they guess was six foot, or perhaps taller, his eyes radiated knowledge that neither of the two would ever comprehend; the eyes also spoke of the soul, something that had been weathered by time and its cruelty, yet remained intact and possibly haunted by the unseen - giving the impression that he was indeed older than he actually looked.

A wave of a hand and a soft spoken word that neither Katharine nor Louise heard sent the arrows away, those holding the weapons replacing the item back into the quiver and standing at ease but not moving forward or back. The man with golden hair however, stepped forward, but the movement of walking a couple of steps moved the trails of hair beside the tips of his ears, portraying them for all to see. Louise felt her heart leap into her throat for an unknown reason when she noticed that the slender and refined ears of the man walking towards them were not the ones of a man at all,

_but of an Elf._

Being an avid fanfiction reader and writer, Louise had an eerie feeling that she almost knew where this was following conversation was going; as soon as the _Elf_ opened their mouth, the words did indeed confirm what she was thinking.

" _Mae govannen_ , my ladies," he began, opening his arms in a peaceful gesture that also spoke of fondness and welcome. "Mithrandir has been expecting you. Might I introduce myself, my name is Glorfindel."

_Mithrandir. Glorfindel. Both fictional characters from one place._

_Middle-Earth._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The quote 'Once more unto the breach, my friends' is from Shakespeare's play Henry V. I had it in my mind while writing the chapter, and as it seemed to fit I added it in :)


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I have no idea how this chapter got to be so long - compared to the other two; this broke 5,000 words quite easily, it just would not end!
> 
> This chapter is also dedicated to two people: firstly I must that determamfidd for the headcanons of the daemons of existing characters that will all turn up (eventually)  
> And secondly, to the stunning lavender_lab; my first commenter, and - *squeals in joy* I cannot thank you enough! 
> 
> And here we go, enjoy!

The girls shared a look, the disbelief evidently shown upon both of their faces. _Glorfindel? You've got to be kidding me._ Katharine thought, huffing and glancing back. As Louise also did the same, she caught some of the expressions of what she now assumed were other Elves standing around them. They were all emotionless, or at least, to what they would have known; she recalled from the books and the movies - and the countless fanfictions she'd read and written - the Elves were typically less expressive of emotions towards outsiders, and thus, looked as if they were indifferent to a situation even if they were amused, or something similar.

Then she remembered that they were all still wearing their hoods, besides Glorfindel, so possibly thought that the shadows over their faces, and the distance in which they were standing meant that she couldn't see what expressions they were wearing. Louise watched them, noticing that some of the badges varied widely in design. While some had a simple green six-pointed star, Glorfindel had a golden and silver design which almost emulated a flower or the sun.

Within this unexpected moment of introspection and _once again_ she was being overly observant in the minor things that didn't matter, Katharine was immediately skeptical of the 'Elf' that stood before them.

She stood strong, arms folded across her chest, and began to speak.

"I'm Katharine Gould, first of her name, the Lady of the Honey Badgers and of the First Nerds," she announced, head rising in what Katharine could only describe as a moment of confident introduction. Louise could only think that she looked like a complete idiot, trying too hard to impress - a testament to her age, she supposed. "And this is Louise Chase, first of her name, leader of the Rooks."

A knowing smile made itself flower upon Glorfindel's face, the hidden meaning of his grin remaining unnoticed by Katharine; meanwhile Louise, who had instead turned to gape with wide eyes, anxiety rising at the blatant _lie_ that her friend had proclaimed, had turned to observe Glorfindel, and his reaction to the information handed to him.

For a moment, nothing. The Elf from the House of the Golden Flower ( _that_ explained the badge!) remained observing the two women as much as they were observing him.

The silence unnerved Louise slightly; as Glorfindel turned to some of those hooded Elves whom had all remained unmoving nearby, Louise decided she _had_ to know why Katharine had done what she did.

"What the holy hell are you _doing_?!" she hissed, head inclining towards her intended conversation partner.

"Introducing us." Came the simple reply. "What else would I be doing?"

"But you didn't have to do it like _that_ " retorted Louise. "This isn't Westeros, and can you _please_ start acting normal?!"

"Says you."

"... Shut up."

Louise glanced over at Glorfindel, the smile still resting upon his features. It eventually clicks within her brain, that something was amiss with this. "What's up?" she queried, still curious as to why he was beaming with a knowing smile. "There's got to be a reason you're still smiling, and I'm _guessing_ that's it directed at something about us."

Glorfindel _still_ continues to smile, which was beginning to irritate the pair of women standing there. Eventually, he appears to gather words more neutral to his argument, and spoke to them for the first time in minutes.

" _Hiril-nin_ , we are already aware of who you are." he explained, and Louise reacted by turning and just gave Katharine _the look._ Katharine just responded by rolling her eyes, mouthing 'whatever' before the pair turned back to glance at Glorfindel, waiting for a larger explanation.

"How come?" they asked.

"You've never met us before," Katharine elaborated, when he didn't continue.

" _Mithrandir_ " was his response, and they both understood fully. _Bloody wizards._ Louise couldn't possibly believe this, it _had_ to be going beyond the joke now. Surely the pair of them were drunk, still at Olivia's, but passed out on the floor - even though neither had been drinking? Gandalf, _of all people_ couldn't be alive. He just couldn't! She was well aware how Tolkien had created him purely for the novel (she also knew how Bilbo Baggins was essentially a self-insert character, but the information didn't really help her out in this situation.)

Glorfindel's gaze flickers between the pair, at the mutual frustration and underlying disbelief that more well-hidden than their anger.

"You both seem to be somewhat confused about this… situation?" he responds, when neither talk, deep within their thoughts.

"This is going to be the least of many shocks they will experience." someone quipped in the background. As Louise turned to glance in the direction of the speech, they - whoever it was - finished speaking

Even as she turned back around, Louise still felt as if she should have investigated, or even asked a question - _something_ for a response.

Ignoring this, Katharine scoffed, looking towards Glorfindel in disbelief. "You're kidding, right?" No response came; the Elf instead continued to stand there, bow in hand, with the stoic look engraved upon his timeless, ageless face. "It wasn't as if Gandalf sent us an invitation or anything. Or even a _minor_ word of warning."

"Thus is the manner of Wizards _hiril-nin_ ", came a reply from one of the Elves Louise had been glancing at before. His hood still remained up, shielding his face, but as he stepped forward in a similar stature of self-importance in which Glorfindel had done, the light from above the trees that seemed to break through the gaps in the darkness, illuminated some of the more poignant aspects such as the aged ash grey eyes.

He then turned to Glorfindel, again having a conversation in rushed Sindarin; Louise could recognise odd words, making her aware that the conversation was about her and Katharine - in that situation, how could it not? - but there was enough unknown there for Louise to still question what exactly was going on. But one word that she recognised sparked her attention - Imladris.

_Rivendell._

As the conversation continued, the two friends turned to one another; neither had a clear indication as to what was going on, but there was a nagging idea, so _ridiculous_ to assume, that they could guess. Being massive fans of Tolkien's works, and writing fanfiction based upon those works, they were assuming that, if they had been brought here by Gandalf, and met by Elves - Louise had a growing suspicion that that star brooch was actually representing the Dunedain - then there was really only one outcome for this.

"What do you think we're here for?" Katharine mouthed, hoping to have sort of mutual agreement on the matter.

"No idea, but I think - stupid as it is - that we're basically living some sort of Tenth Walker fanfiction?" Louise answered, phrasing it as a question.

Katharine glances over, confused and slightly concerned for her "That's a little far-fetched. What made you think _that's_ the right answer?" A shrug is all the response she gets.

Louise raises an eyebrow, as if to say ' _Really? Just trust me'_ and katharine simply rolls her eyes.

The conversation was dragging on, and neither could agree on… _something_ or other. But their decision was made for them, when the anguished cries that Louise and Katharine had heard just hours before sounded again. Everyone tensed; the Elves all reached for their bows, loading them once again. Glorfindel, sent a couple scouting in the direction of the noise. Louise followed them as they left, losing track of where they were within seconds of vanishing into the woodland.

The fact that the noise was much, _much_ louder and closer to home sent her sense of foreboding and anxiety through the proverbial roof.

"Okay. That definitely isn't a Wendigo." Louise muttered, slightly unnerved at the unexpected return of what she now suspected was at least one of the Wraiths.

"But that asks even _more_ questions; why are they even chasing us?" Katharine hissed back, her eyes wide. Louise knew, staring back, that she looks just as unnerved, perhaps even more so, if her hair was anything to go by; her hair was escaping the intricate braided bun keeping her hair back, most likely giving Louise the look of complete insanity and derangement.

No wonder they were turning to talk to Katharine more than her.

But she knew she was getting sidetracked, with the unusual situation changing the ideas of what was a priority to her.

Glorfindel promptly runs over to the pair, calling to the others, picking up whatever they had brought with them. Preparing to leave, and quite quickly by the looks of it.

Neither disagreed. Given that they pretty much knew what was indeed after them.

Yet Katharine disagreed with the notion of leaving with _them._ Despite whatever 'Glorfindel' had been saying, she was sceptical over whether the 'Elves' who stood before and around Louise and herself were indeed who they said they were, and were indeed going to escort the pair to Rivendell.

From the direction that the other Elves had fled to locate the Wraith, a type of seabird flew back and caught the attention of Glorfindel. Already quite concerned with the fact that she may be going slightly crazy, Louise was astounded when the bird itself began talking. Katharine not so much, as she recalled the birds on Ravenhill in _The Hobbit_ having the ability to talk, and naturally assumed that this was true of all birds near settlements with Rings of Power.

"It is." The bird said simply, gliding to remain before Glorfindel. "Yet it does not appear to head this way."

"It would be best to move out nonetheless." He replied, "Night will soon be closing in, and it would not bear good if we remain out after dark. I shall meet you back at _Imladris._ " Upon finishing, Glorfindel turned away and began to call orders to the remaining

At once, the bird followed its previous flight path back through the glen.

"My ladies, are you both ready to depart?" Glorfindel called over to the pair, temporarily forgotten in the change in circumstances.

"Ready as we'll ever be." Louise replied, discreetly tapping her pocket to ensure her phone was still there. Even if it didn't work, it still gave an element of comfort to know she still had it.

"What?! Hold on a minute, Louise." Katharine interrupted, holding onto Louise's arm as she made to walk forward, "what the _hell_ are you doing?!"

"Going to Rivendell. Going somewhere _safe_ where I can have a nap."

Katharine just looked at her. "They could be trying to kidnap us!" She added in a hushed voice. Louise made the mental note that it really wouldn't matter if she did or not, the Elves would still be able to hear.

Louise huffs and shoves Katharine's hand off her arm. "For fuck's sake Katharine, even _I'm_ pretty sure that this is the safer thing to do right now."

"Safer? They fired at _us_!"

"Actually, at the rabbit, so shut up and let's go already!" Huffing again, Louise turns, and begins to lightly jog after the Elves who had already begun to walk away.

As much as it may seem a tad cruel to just leave Katharine standing there on her own, Louise knew that sooner or later she would follow. And just as expected, less than a minute later following some shuffling noises, Louise glanced to her side to see Katharine walking beside her.

"Can we just establish now, that the only reason that I'm going with you is because I don't _really_ want to stay in the foreboding forest by myself, and I don't really want the pair of us to get murdered either." Katharine muttered, crossing her arms and glancing about as they walked.

Louise couldn't help the triumphant smile that etched its way onto her face.

* * *

The walk from the clearing was one of the most apprehensive Katharine could remember, and that was saying something, considering the events of the previous couple of hours. It was definitely a message to her about being social and going to parties. A message that read 'never again'.

As much as she resented Louise for dragging her out - _almost_ as much as she hated losing the bet with her friend that decided who was picking the outfits for both Olivia's Halloween party, and Comic Con three weeks later - but she knew that the drastic turn of events was not her fault.

Still walking beside her, glancing off into the limited spaces behind the older more concealing trees as the troupe rushed past, Louise spoke softly. "This could be worse, you know."

As the dreaded silence that was Katharine's response - speaking the thousand and one words that needed to be said - and Katharine's irritated gaze, not moving from the peacock that had begun to walk with the group at Glorfindel's heel, Louise continued.

"We could be dressed as Mulan and Merida right now, or even flat out drunk back at Olivia's?" The conversation attempt aside, Katharine felt that she wasn't doing very well at being re-assuring. Maybe it _was_ a good idea that she, not Louise, was the more level-headed in a crisis.

With no response for the second time, Louise muttered a quiet apology (what she was apologising _for_ , she wasn't really clear on) and began wondering how long it would be until they arrived in the Hidden Valley.

It had to have been at least a couple of hours since they all began walking, Louise could tell by both the sluggish movements of the sun as it ever so slowly began to descend in the sky, and the ache already developing in her feet.) If it had been earlier, then maybe she would have whined incessantly, pleasing for a break every ten minutes, silently praying that her boots didn't give her blisters (and definitely _not_ like the ones she received during her trip to Athens in March)

But now? She was beyond caring, only really wanting to physically get to Rivendell, and sleep like the dead into the next age. No doubt that Katharine shared the sentiment.

Boredom was definitely setting in for the pair; as captivated as they were with their surroundings, they were just _trees._ Hours of walking and just bloody _trees._ Katharine had taken it upon herself to start humming, and Louise's overactive imagination began to write a story in her thoughts as they walked.

It was quite complex by the time they had all left the depths of the forest, and reached the river. Sharing a look, Katharine and Louise had an idea just about where they were - crossing over the boundaries for the Hidden Valley; Katharine recalled something their high school history teacher had said about rivers being used for country boundaries in early history. Louise went the nerdy route, and remembered the bit in _Lord of the Rings_ where either Arwen or Glorfindel - depending on the adaptation - brought an injured Frodo to Rivendell.

Even as they nipped through the river, they could feel something was different, as if - as cheesy as it sounded - like _magic_. The pair shared a look, silently confirming that they'd both experienced it. The confirmation that they were close picked them both up, wearing away at their bad moods, and began to get back to their normal selves, albeit tired.

Their pace picked up, and before long the trees before them began to thin out, the trees themselves becoming stronger, the leaves a collection of more vibrant shades of crimson, layered with the crisp oranges and dull yellows of dying leaves in the midst of autumn.

The trees, the leaves green in the shade, yet shades of vibrant yellows, reds and oranges; the sunlight that fell upon the branches presented the illusion that the trees were alight, a warm and welcoming introduction. Despite the raging waterfall nearby, there was little disturbing sound - the level of noise was quaint, allowing enough to create serenity once the melody was combined with the singing of many birds, and with the songs being sung by those within Rivendell - Louise wondered whether it was all coming from the Hall of Fire - that reverberated through the air.

The Elves had already begun the descent into the valley, yet Glorfindel was patient and held back from following the rest, as to allow the girls a moment to take in the view.

The pair were utterly speechless, completely consumed by the sheer awe and beauty of the building hiding away in the valley below them. The setting sun behind them definitely added to the aura, and the homely charm that sat, thousands of years old before them.

And Louise couldn't think of anything to say.

After everything she's read, or seen in the Peter Jackson adaptations, the older teen - the aspiring _writer_ for heaven's sake - was profoundly struck dumb by the sight of the fictional building that lay welcoming before her hazel eyes.

So she simply smiled, at a loss of what to do, for once. Ignoring the fact that people were watching her (some of the Elves descending into the valley had looked back once they were aware Glorfindel was not following), observing her reaction, in favour of simply taking in the situation.

Katharine was similarly awestruck, mouth hanging slightly open from the minute she lay eyes of the structure, yet she'd _finally_ reached the revelation that they were definitely in Middle-Earth.

"Okay, I admit that you were right." Katharine remarked, a small laugh escaping before turning her head to glance at Louise standing beside her. "Time for the nerds to have an adventure for once, don't you think?"

"You did _not_ just say that, right?" Was the deadpan response, Louise turning to glare unimpressed with the comment, repressing a groan of embarrassment.

"...No?"

Louise's deadpan expression doesn't change, but she turns away and locates their way down into the valley. "Let's just get down there for a start."

And with that, both began the descent.

The walk down wasn't as tense, or as difficult as the pair were expecting; it was quite soon into this final leg of the journey that the path leveled out, or having much less of an angle to walk down. Likewise, the path soon became paved, the intrusive roots gone, hidden under a layer of a sort of stone - neither had a clue which, but Louise was definite that it was something similar to marble. The trees themselves still remained either side of them, once there was a clearing and they were away from the cliff face, and continued to line the route, until the party passed through the main gates where they lined the perimeter of the clearing before the building, and disappeared off into the distance - easily giving the impression that Rivendell was well hidden in the valley, even if it was identifiable once nearby.

Finally within Rivendell, Katharine and Louise took the brief rest upon arrival to get a good look at the building. The main thing that stuck immediately for the pair of them, was the similarities to the model produced for the movies. The same shaped roof curves over in one direction, the designs of the turrets littered around, the architecture astounded both of them. From where they stood, Katharine could recognise two balconies that were practically identical, and absent mindedly wondered which one the Council of Elrond was held on.

Or would be? The sudden realisation that they didn't know the date was startling. They could be in the first century of the Third Age for all they knew.

Then, in a moment of unanticipated shock, Louise noticed that as the Elven rangers - at least _some_ of them had to be with the Dunedain - left, no doubt to bathe and rest, she spotted Glorfindel talking to that blasted peacock that had followed them all the way here.

The weirdest thing was, it, like the seabird began to talk back.

Nodding her head in the direction of the Elf and the animal, Louise whispered over to Katharine.

"I can't be the only one seeing this?" she asked, utterly confused as to _why_ this was happening; to her, it was really only the ravens at Ravenhill (and the Great Eagles) that possessed the ability to talk.

"No you're not the only one," Katharine replied, eyes widening at the sight.

"Pretty sure none of _that_ happened in the books."

"I'm almost certain Middle-Earth didn't have _peacocks_ either."

Louise huffs, crossing her arms as she continued to watch; both seemed perfectly aware they were being watched, given that every so often, the peacock would glance over and turn right back to Glorfindel once they had realised they'd been caught.

"Let's just go and find out what's going on for a start."

Louise nods, unceremoniously shoving the cane sword into her bag before crossing her arms against her chest (mostly due to the fact that she had no idea what to do with her arms) as they began to walk over, curious over the developments. Katharine, looked at Glorfindel and the animal, and something seemed wrong to her. For one, both seemed to act in unison; the pair had similar reactions to sounds and movements - just being noticed by Katharine and Louise before openly displayed this.

The approaching sound of their shoes, notably the heeled boots resonating on the paving beneath them alerted Glorfindel. As Louise called his name (still not quite adjusted to actually addressing him - how often do you meet someone fictional, anyway?) he was already turning around to face them.

"Is everything alright, _hiril-nin_?" he queried, taking in their puzzled expressions, and how their gazes flickered towards the peacock every so often.

Katharine inclined her head in its direction. "Has that peacock followed us from the clearing? What is it doing here?"

Glorfindel's responding smile was fond, again as if he was anticipating the discussion that was to follow about the elephant in the room - well, peacock.

"Ravonith has followed us to Imladris, as she is my dæmon."

In a graceful action that only an Elf (or apparently the dæmon of an Elf) could manage, Ravonith inclined their head in greeting, speaking a profound ' _mae govannen'_ directed to the girls as their jaws dropped.

Once again, Louise was beyond speechless - this time more from confusion than awe.

"Well _that_ wasn't what I was expecting to happen," she quipped, the only thing coming to mind was simply ' _what the fuck?!'_

Katharine, in contrast, quickly made the connection between something almost identical, causing her to face palm in response. "Bloody Philip Pullman," she mutters under her breath. Louise felt her eyes widen, turning slightly to Katharine to ask what she was going on about, when she realised.

_Ah. Okay._

"Wait a minute; if everyone else has one," Louise began, hoping the same logic that applied in the books occured here.

"Then how come we don't seem to have one?" Katharine finished; the main reason for asking (though she'd deny it if ever asked) was that she was desperate to know what hers would be.

Glorfindel frowns as he thinks of this response. In unison, he glances to Ravonith who nods, before the dæmon responds with 'Maybe _Mithrandir_ will know."

Instinctively, Louise nods, feeling that not only was it easier to go along with those who knew what they were doing, but was _exhausted._ She had no clear idea just how long she and Katharine had been walking, but she was sure that the next time she slept, it would be like the dead.

There were muffled discussions going on behind essentially every door that they passed, the crackling of the lit torches combining with the ambiance to relax Katharine and Louise, the former beginning to think this is how it would feel in the Ravenclaw common room in Harry Potter (despite not seeing a book in _hours_ ). She peering into every crack in the open doors to see if she could spot _anything_ , maybe another character? But the closest she got to seeing anything, was when Glorfindel walked into what was most likely a private study, only for him to exit just as promptly and continue walking; neither of the girls got a glimpse of anything other than the candles surrounding the desk and the papers that lay strewn upon it.

The hubbub in the background seemed to grow fainter as the kept walking, Glorfindel leading them away from the more communal areas, to somewhere quieter. A thought popped into Katharine's head, making her wonder whether Elrond had asked people to stay away while he met the pair of them, or had chosen one of the rooms furthest away from where he knew people would congregate.

Two more corridors later, the sun had finally set, the flickering torches creating vast shadows on the floor. Just as Louise was wondering just how long it would be until they stopped, the four reached a door at the end of the current corridor, which Glorfindel opened, allowing them all inside.

They had doubted Glorfindel's words, yet as they walked curiously into the room - a library given the amount of books on the walls (both girls' hearts simultaneously cheered) they could clearly see the pair waiting for them. Both were looking in a different direction; as the troupe entered, another door slammed shut, begging the question in Louise's mind about who was in there before they were?

The snake lounging around Elrond's shoulders glanced over towards them with knowing eyes, hissing something in Sindarin into the Elf Lord's ear, prompting the two - the Grey Wizard and the Lord of Rivendell - to turn and greet the newcomers. The pheasant that had been standing elsewhere in the room was the first to address them, sauntering into view as Louise and Katharine moved further in, Ravonith pushing the door shut behind them.

"Well, they are _not_ what I was expecting," it commented, causing Gandalf to glare over in its general direction, no doubt wanting to lecture it about _manners._

Elrond, meanwhile gave a warming smile to Katharine and Louise, looking first at Glorfindel. "Thank you for escorting them, Glorfindel."

"It was no problem, _mellon-nin_." Glorfindel replies, inclining his head. "But the Nine were out there again; at least one of them was tracking us."

By this, Elrond seemed troubled - _no shit,_ Louise thought. "We'll discuss this later." They both nod. "Do you mind seeing if their rooms are ready? Lindir saw you arrive and has already left to fetch something to eat from the kitchens.

As Glorfindel turned to leave - and at the mention of food - one of the girls' stomachs rumbled, relatively loudly given the silence in the room. They both turned to look at the other, before inwardly cringing; they'd only just met these people and they were _already_ embarrassing themselves. (Though neither would admit it was them, Louise definitely knew it was, in fact, her that made the noise.)

The door clicking shut behind Glorfindel brought their attentions back to the situation before them. The Lord of Rivendell appeared as if he was anticipating something along such lines - Kathrine remembered that he had the 'gift' of foresight.

"Welcome, _hiril-nyn_." He began, the snake around his neck turning to them, and giving the impression that it was observing them closely. "I am glad to see you have arrived safely."

"Besides being hunted down like rabbits by a Wraith, sure." Katharine muttered bitterly. "Let's go with 'safely'."

Glancing away from the peacock and watching the two standing nearby, Louise watched the pair; clearly they wanted to say something, to say _everything_ , but there wasn't enough time. It was unspoken, but the elephant in the room could easily be detected by any of them.

For one, Katharine couldn't really respond as she didn't trust her own mouth. The two characters standing before her and Louise looked remarkably close to Hugo Weaving and Ian McKellen, it was uncanny. Louise was thinking the same thing, but having met several celebrities in real life before (the benefits of Comic Con!) she knew how to deal with this.

By trying not to shout at people you've only just met.

Elrond seemed to sense that they were agitated about something, so appeared to hurry the conversation along. "I assume that you both have many questions about this situation?"

"Yeah, I have one: Why?" Louise asked, trying to keep calm. It was taking all of her restraint (she just wanted to have a nap _and be done with this_.)

Faeleth looked at her in confusion. " _'Why'_ what?"

"Why bring _us_ here in the first place? And why now? _And why not tell us first?!_ "

Unsurprisingly, Gandalf - the one who had decided to send the pair to Middle-Earth in the first place, was the one who responded. "All will be answered in due course." He commented, and both girls got relatively excited at the prospect of either some answers, or a nap. "But now is not the time." _Yep, definitely a nap_. "Tomorrow morning, I feel will be more suitable."

Elrond nodded, and the girls could almost _see_ him coming up with a plan on how to explain everything to them. Katharine was okay with this answer, at least everything _was_ going to be explained, even if it wasn't right away. "Alright, But I still have one question." She mentioned, and Louise silently hoped that it wasn't going to be about food; they knew they were getting some, so why ask?!

Gandalf and Elrond shared a look, before the Grey Wizard nodded, inviting her to continue.

"What's the date?" Louise gave her a look like she was crazy; of all the things to ask?! But, as she thought about it (mostly later) it was a sensible thing to do. Figure out where - no, _when_ \- they were, and if it was something from the books, then they could more than likely help out.

It just so happened, that is exactly what occurred. Even when the pair seemed thrown off by the question, they still replied. "It's October the Twenty-Third, _hiril-nin._ "

"And the year?" Both, now silently praying that it was when they thought it was.

"3018 of the Third Age."

While one weight lifted with the date being said, another, denser weight pressed upon them (or maybe it was just exhaustion, they really didn't know) and the girls share a passing glance. Both can see a sense of fear in the eyes of the other, but also a sense of realisation.

 _The Lord of the Rings._ They were _actually in_ that story, something they'd both idolised for years.

There was so much that they wanted to say, to do. But all Louise did was sigh. _Well, that solves_ one _mystery_ , she thought.


	4. Chapter Four

The next morning seemed far too eager, Louise thought as she felt the bright rays pierce through thin, hastily drawn curtains; the sun lay low in the valley, emphasising the oranges and golden yellows that were tinting the leaves, and creating a waterfall of a humid autumn, awakening the inhabitants into the new day ahead.

However, as the daily routine for Rivendell continued to spring into action, Louise was adamant that she would _not_ get up when the universe wanted her to. Turning over in bed to regain some element of comfort, face delving into the darkness of the fluffy, caressing pillows, she once again sought peace.

The birds that sang outside the windows, the lulling melody of the wind cascading its reach through the numerous branches, leaves and natural orifices, as well as the soft comforting purring of all content cats made the fall back into a relaxed state of mind essentially a walk in the park. Louise tugged the blanket closer, wrapping it firmly around her shoulders, and holding the edge as she again adjusted so that her face now rested upon the pillows, facing away from had dared to disturb her rest. Sighing in her satisfied state, she practically sank into the covers, the combination of the fur blanket and the simpler more caressing texture of the sheets, she curled up with every intention to fall back to sleep until someone arrived to wake her up.

Light footsteps joined the orchestra of sound beyond in the minutes that followed, interrupting the more philosophical thoughts of the teen still attempting to gain more rest. Yet, she came to make out, if they - the Elves - were already awake, surely she had things to do? The idea made her whine, pulling the blankets closer.

No doubt finding Elrond and Gandalf for what she and Katharine had to discuss, and she would wholeheartedly agree that exploring Rivendell was a must.

 _Just not right now,_ she thought. _Give me ten more minutes._

Huffing in the realisation that sleep was avoiding her, she relinquished her grasp on the blankets, opening her eyes to this foreign - yet familiar - world. Propping up her weight upon her arm, brushing back her mane of hair from her face with the free hand, Louise glanced around. Even though she'd managed to get a look around the room the night before, something felt wrong to her, yet she couldn't quite place what it was exactly. The idea that something to do with the conversation the night before passed through her thoughts, only her half-asleep brain was not willing to think about such things so early in the morning. It needed at least a cup of tea before it could attempt such as task.

Then her eyes, gradually growing to full wakefulness, rested upon the cat still sleeping upon the foot of the bed. The fur was dense, she could immediately tell, as Louise sat back against the headboard for a moment, shoving her pillows behind her and wondered whether or not she should lean forward and stroke the animal. A dull yellow and copper colour, the animal seemed to radiate warmth and content as it remained curled up on itself, bushy tail tucked in and lying in the small stretch of sunlight that had already fed itself into the room, and was sprawling upon the bed.

Her heart tugged in fond memory as she was reminded of her old ginger cat Fluffy, who was nearly always found doing something similar at home. Even four years after Fluffy had been run over, Louise's obsession with cats had not diminished.

As amused as she was, sitting there and pondering over cats, Louise had been missing the world around her changing yet again. A pair of more recognisable footsteps had joined in with the melody, echoing against the walls of the corridor, before Katharine, fully dressed and being followed by a young wolf cub at her heels, came barging into the room. At realising that Louise was awake, she strolled over, and sat on the bed, having to reach down to allow the wolf cub onto the bed. There it sat by her crossed legs, staring profusely at the cat.

Katharine began to speak, yet Louise only registered her mouth opening and closing; when she finished, Louise had no response. "What?" was the stupid response of choice, and Louise was ultimately met with _the look_ paired with Katharine rolling her eyes.

"I _said_ ," Katharine began, crossing her arms. "I see you didn't want to get up this morning," she states, nodding her head towards the cat, as it began to stretch from its curled position.

"That's a given," replied Louise, already intending to turn around and go back to sleep - who even plans on getting up at sunrise anyway?!. Then, noticing where Katharine was staring - her eyes indicating a range of emotions including surprise and humour - Louise became puzzled, even with the sense of recollection returning to her as she woke up. "What's with the cat?" she asked.

Even for someone as intelligent as Louise, the fact she forgot about this particular twist is just plain stupid.

The cat, grey and a dirty white colour when out of the sun, and fur especially fluffy, rolled from its patch on the duvet, to glance at Louise and _spoke._ "You know perfectly well what's going on; so either figure it out for yourself, or find another room to talk about it." And with that, it - _he_ \- resumed his previous position.

Nothing else could help Louise articulate her emotions in that moment, besides her _elegant_ choice of words. "What the holy _fuck_?!" she exclaimed, throwing the covers back and jumping to her feet, slowly inching away from the bed, until she remained standing a good metre or two away, leaning against the wall. The thin pyjamas did nothing to hide the biting of the cold wall.

Katharine face palmed as she watched the situation unfold. Even _she_ , someone who is infamous for forgetting important details, had remembered something as big as this. It had shocked her initially, yes, but Katharine had handled it with eloquence and decorum - successfully managing to remain on her own proverbial two feet, unlike Louise. Katharine's attention is caught as the grey wolf cub begins to walk over towards the pillows still propped up against the headboard, and she has an idea.

Meanwhile, Louise gradually processed the shock; as she finally recalled the meeting with Gandalf and Elrond the night before, she mused just how _confusing_ the situation was. Surely the multiverse from Philip Pullman's books was where they'd have their soul as their dæmon, an animal imprint beside them? Instead of Middle-Earth? But, the main cause of agitation was the fact that it was a breed of _wild cat,_ and it just _had_ to be the obscure one she'd loved since childhood. Her eyes remained focused upon it, until a pillow was thrown in her general direction.

Katharine snorts a laugh. "Hurry up and get dressed," Katharine ordered, proudly smiling as she saw the unimpressed expression encompass her friend's face. "I'm hungry, and I want to find something to eat _before_ the end of the world, thank you very much."

As Louise threw the pillow away, Katharine was allowed a decent look at her appearance, the laughter simply escalating.

"What is it _now_?" Louise whined; Katharine's cub simply sighed, already aware of what was coming next.

"You look like Hermione with your hair like that!" True enough, the braids and the pins that had adorned Louise's hair the day before had left her with her usually wavy hair bushy, and the fact that it remained unbrushed from sleep escalated the appearance of the bed head.

Having had a decent look at his counterpart, the dæmon merely rolled his eyes.

"Like I really care about what my hair makes me look like," Louise said, crossing her arms and leaning forward against the wall.

"You could _easily_ pass for a patient in a mental hospital looking like that," Cat (as he had been temporarily named) quipped, earning a bark of a laugh from the wolf, and a glare from Louise.

"Shut up." she commented, look back over to Katharine. "Are you going to sit there insulting my hair, or are you going to leave and let me get dressed?"

Katharine simply laughed, rising from the bed with the cub gathered in her arms, and walked back over to the door. "You've got five minutes, or I'm dragging you out of here regardless of what state you're in."

"Ten!" Louise countered, as the door slammed behind Katharine as she left. The room now silent, Louise sighed in frustration, before getting set on finding something other than pyjamas to wear.

A quick survey of the room, now flooded with daylight, she assumed that the Elves had retrieved the clothes she had been wearing from the night before to wash, as they no longer lay tangled and in disarray upon the chair where she had left them the night before. Her bag, and fake hidden blades remained where they were.

Standing upright, and moving away from the wall, Louise moved over to the vanity table, which appeared to double as a chest of drawers, hand brushing through her hair in an attempt to keep it from appearing as manic as it had been. The intricate carving of the desk made her stop for a minute, appreciating the time and effort that had gone into pieces such as this. Yet realising she was getting sidetracked again, she began to rifle through the drawers, finding an array of clothes already waiting there.

She smiled. None of what she found appeared to be dresses, which she figured would be hiding in the wardrobe. _Maybe along with Narnia, or something_ , she joked.

Clothes chosen, she took them in her arms and began to walk back to the bed when she realised the ball of fluff she called her dæmon, was just sitting there staring at her.

"What are you looking at?" she said, dropping the clothes onto the bed, and glaring at the dæmon. He tilted his head slightly, feigning innocence, and trying to act cute. "What ever you're trying to do, it's not working."

"For the record, I'm staring at _you,_ idiot." The cat replied, sitting upright, tail curling around.

"Well stop, it's weird having you watch me while I get changed." Outside, Louise could hear what must be Katharine stifling a laugh at her words. "So stop looking."

"I'm a _part of you_ , essentially. It's not like I'm going to fat shame or something." he replied. "You're overthinking it, so just get dressed; I'm hungry."

Louise smiles, before turning away. "It's all about food with you lot today." she mutters. _But you're all probably right about the hair._

* * *

Not ten minutes later, Katharine came barging into the room as Louise searched for a hairbrush. And like she mentioned, Katharine dragged her out regardless of what she looked like (but Katharine was considerate enough to already have a brush to use).

If it was possible, Rivendell seemed even more beautiful in the daylight, accentuating the valley and its hidden beauties more than the pristine moonlight could ever achieve. The rising sun glistened off the waterfall, creating the illusion of a million precious gems being hidden within.

Katharine, dressed in a borrowed moss green shirt and brown leggings that definitely contrasted socially with her black and white converse, was more preoccupied with finding something to eat. The noise coming from Louise's stomach made her think that her friend was thinking along the same lines. The phrase ' _if in doubt, always follow your nose'_ came to mind, yet she was unable to find anything that _remotely_ smelled like food.

With the footsteps of the two being much quieter than the night before, now that Louise had borrowed a pair of (what looked like) hunting boots, all that was heard were the claws of the dæmons strolling along in front of them; surprisingly, they turned to one another and simply began chatting (about food).

Katharine scrutinised the cat talking to her wolf cub. "So, what type of cat is that, then?" she asked, elbowing Louise to grab her attention. She looked over, focusing more on trying to reign in her hair. The braid was half complete, her hands entangled as she tilted her head sideways to complete the rest.

"I _think_ that he's a Pallas cat." she responded, eyes briefly flickering from hair to dæmon, and back again. "It's a breed of wild cat that lives in Central Asia."

They observed it for a moment, until he glanced back, giving Katharine a good look at its face. _"Wow it's ugly, for a cat,"_ she thought, taking in the flatness of its features.

The troupe rounded a corridor, Louise tying off the braid - messy but keeping it out of her face while styled like Katniss' from _The Hunger Games_ movies - Louise watched Katharine as she _still_ observed the cat, and nudged her with her shoulder gently.

"What is it?"

Katharine sighs. "Honestly? After you got both of us to dress as Ezio and Evie, I was sort of expecting your dæmon to be some sort of eagle."

"Sorry to disappoint you." The dæmon in question responds, causing Katharine and Louise to laugh.

"I know what you mean though, Katharine." Louise continued. "I'm quite disappointed myself, but not everything can be symbolic."

Katharine shrugs. "So… What are you going to call him?"

"I-I-I haven't really thought about it?" Louise said, thrown off by the question. "Why, what did you call yours? I'm expecting something Hamilton related knowing you." Katharine's responding grin was enough to tell her that it actually _wasn't._

"Nope! Mushu!"

Grumbling, Mushu muttered under his breath. "I still think it's ridiculous, her naming me after that stupid lizard -"

"Hey!" Katharine interrupted, huffing. A couple of Elves passing the pair started when they heard this, turning back around to watch the four as they continued on. " _Dragon_. Mushu is a dragon; he doesn't do the tongue thing."

"I'm _pretty_ sure that he does." Louise crosses her arms as she responds, amused.

Katharine simply glares half-heartedly at her. "Shut up."

"I still think it works as a name. It definitely says something about your personality if you get the reference." Louise jokes. "Anyway, I've _got_ to pick something nerdy, now."

A few seconds of silence follows, Katharine watching her friend, as her face screws up in thought. "Nope. I've got nothing."

"Seriously?"

"Well… All I can think of is Pantalaimon?"

The cat abruptly stops walking and whips around to face Louise. "Oh, _no_!" He exclaimed, suddenly transforming into a bird and flying before Louise's face, making her stop in her tracks. "You are _not_ naming after that ferret from _Northern Lights_!"

Louise, ignoring all of that, was more preoccupied with trying to figure out what sort of bird they'd turned into. The black feathers glistened bluish-purple in the daylight, the white bill openly contrasting the rest of the body. At first she thought is was a Mockingjay, but it was the _voice_ told her that it wasn't. Her eyes glistened and widened slightly, as she realised, before the smile that blossomed told Katharine that she'd found a name.

"Fair enough, _Jacob._ "

He groaned, knowing that he was stuck with that now. Shifting to fly beside her, it allowed Louise to catch up to Katharine (not that she'd wandered off too far) "How did I know you were going to do something like that?"

Louise shrugged. "Well, _you're_ the one that happened to turn into a rook," She began. "Plus, you sound like Paul Amos to me."

"Who?" Katharine interrupted, and Louise simply gave her a look.

"The voice actor for Jacob Frye."

"Ah."

"Wait, so you're telling me I'm Welsh?" Jacob asked, clearly getting irritated at this (though, at least he wasn't called _Mushu_ \- he'd definitely dodged a bullet with that one!)

"Yep!" Both girls, and Mushu, replied. Jacob simply huffed before flying off to soar before them.

"Now, which way's breakfast?"

As they continued, Louise turned to Katharine. " _There's_ your symbolism."

* * *

A few moments later found the pair sitting quite comfortably in Elrond's study, Mushu and Jacob lounging by their feet, as they delved into the array of food. Louise messed with remains of the slices of toast, occasionally slipping pieces of crust beneath the desk to the dæmons.

As they ate, Katharine's gaze wandered the room, only half concentrating on the description being given to them by Gandalf (Elrond was apparently elsewhere for the time being). Nothing appeared to be out of place, until she spied a lone dais on the open balcony; chairs were already arranged there, most likely not equaling more than fifteen, but she could take a guess as to _why_ they were there.

Something being said piqued her attention and drew her back to the present. "Wait, what do you mean you've met us before?"

It wasn't Gandalf answered, but Louise, in a rather sheepish manner. "Uh… If it's the incident I'm thinking of, it was last week when I went to the Waterstones in Nuneaton?"

Katharine turned to look at her, Louise facial expression cringing. "You went to Waterstones without me?"

"You had an exam, and I needed a new book." Louise looked away towards Gandalf (who had since arriving, sat the opposite side of their table), seemingly thinking back. She was reminded of an incident that day, that almost seemed to mirror their current situation in a fanfic she once read. So she went with her gut instinct.

"Were you the one with the grey fedora?" she asked, and Gandalf nodded once, the pheasant rolling their eyes. "Nice touch."

"Evidently." was all it said. Jacob and Mushu didn't bother concealing their faces as they both rolled their eyes in response, resulting in the pheasant giving the cat and the wolf cub an exasperated look from beneath the table.

"Well I thought it was a nice touch." Louise said, smiling over. Gandalf seemed to be quite proud of himself as he tipped his head towards her in thanks.

"Hang on a minute, how are you so calm about this?" Katharine exclaimed, looking over at Louise with incredibility.

"Accepting the inevitable?"

Katharine huffed. _Damn right, because if this is your fault, then I'll kill you myself_ she thought.

Gandalf observed the pair, an incredulous look upon his face, as if the women before him had been turning down something that they would receive from no one else. The chance of a lifetime. "But my dears, I thought that you _wanted_ to see Middle-Earth!"

"I'm pretty sure that I was referring to the movie sets in New Zealand." Louise countered. "I wasn't going on about _actually_ visiting another universe!"

Then, just as the pair were beginning to forget that the dæmon was even on the chair, Gollor spoke up, their wise(ish) words of wisdom coming into effect. "You said that you wanted this ' _more than anything_ '" they quoted. "Both of you, I think you'd mentioned."

Katharine rolled her eyes. _It just wasn't getting it._ "Yeah, but -"

But, as she made to continue, the door opened, creaking and biting into the silence following Katharine's pause to think about her words.

Considering that it was Elrond's study in which they were within, it came to no surprise to the girls to see the Lord of Rivendell in the doorway.

What did seem abnormal to them, was the fact that he didn't make any move to physically enter the room; instead, Elrond inclined his head to the pair, before turning to Gandalf and addressing him.

He spoke in rapid Elvish - Katharine couldn't tell upfront if it was Sindarin or Quenya - that neither could openly translate. But whatever he said interested Gandalf, as he replied in the same manner; Elrond left the room once more, inclining his head once more to Louise and Katharine. The boa still wrapped around his shoulders muttered a simple "Hiril-nyn" before they left.

The sound of scraping chair legs on the floor told them that Gandalf was standing; both were struck by the grandfather-ly aura that the Wizard displayed through manner and tone of voice as he addressed them once more.

"Well, I am needed elsewhere," he began, wrapping his robes closer around him and reaching for the staff that rested upon the back of the chair. "So, the rest of the day is yours to do with as you see fit. Go explore, find something interesting. I mean, there's no point sitting here all day when the world is _out there._ " At the last two words he made a sweeping gesture before him.

Gandalf then addressed the pheasant. "Come, Gollor." It lept down from the chair, and followed Gandalf towards the door.

"One more thing: try not to do anything drastic while we're gone?" Gollor commented before sauntering out.

The door was closed behind them.

"I can't _believe_ that we just got sassed by a _pheasant_!" Katharine exclaimed, almost horrified by it.

"Really?" Louise turned to her "Felt like a normal day to me. At least it's not James insulting me this time."

Jacob stared after the door as they left, before leaping up onto the table using Gandalf's vacant chair, and looking at Louise. "Shall we?" he hinted; Louise's eyes flickered from the dæmon to the door, where it rested a moment before returning to the cat.

"Yes, let's."

As she stood, the chair scraping against the floor and a grin plastered on her face, Mushu stared at her. "Was that a quote?!" he all but shouted in accusation.

"From the game, yeah." Louise laughed, and Katharine just huffed rising to her feet and following Louise and Jacob to the door, Mushu following close behind.

"You're hopeless."

"Wow. _Rude."_

"Yeah, whatever. _Evie._ "

Louise groaned and opened the door before glancing back over her shoulder. "Come on, let's go find something more interesting than an empty room."

* * *

The pair (and their daemons) wandered around for a couple of hours, and they'd not yet found anything that remotely piqued their interests, until they somehow stumbled upon the kitchens.

Katharine personally would have liked to stay there all day, Louise in mutual agreement - the array of smells and dishes they could see being cooked being a welcoming sight - but even after minutes being there, they could tell they were gradually becoming irritated by being interrupted. So they did the sensible option, and grabbed a couple of cookies each, and left the kitchens to find somewhere relatively hidden to go hide.

As they ate, they decided to just sit down for a while and think; it was about midday (a rough estimate given there were no definite clocks, and neither possessed a watch) yet it felt later, purely on the aspect of vast weight of information given to them. Breaking off a piece of the last chocolate cookie in her hand, Louise peered into the building below. She was hoping to see someone she recognised - someone from the Fellowship to rear their head, or Glorfindel to find them again, but at that moment, nothing. There was lighter-pitched cheering nearby; but only Mushu really seemed to hear interested, sitting upon Katharine's shoulder as a hawk.

The area had numerous Elves - and several other dignitaries - bustling to and fro, yet none she was familiar with, or could easily distinguish at such a height above them.

Katharine paused, as Mushu continued to peer off into the distance, his ears twitching as if listening closely to something the girls couldn't hear. Louise chucked the final piece of the cookie to Jacob, who had so far been merely sitting upright on the bench. He looked as if he was going to catch it, but snapped his head to something in the same direction in which Mushu was staring.

The section of the cookie landed unceremoniously between his ears, sliding forward down his face, and ultimately dropping to the floor. It crumbled upon impact. _A shame_ , Louise thought. _It was yummy._

But it did lead to the girls ending up in a fit of giggles.

"What was that about?" Katharine asked, and Louise simply shrugged. Katharine leaned forward and gently poked Mushu, who batted her hand away, nipping slightly with his beak. But ultimately remained staring in the same direction.

Louise shifted in her seated position to glance in that direction, about to ignore their reaction, when she noticed _Merry and Pippin_ walk around the corner. She nudged Jacob with her foot. "Hey. Stop staring." she muttered.

"Oh cool - they've got cookies!" The otter shouted before running over, nabbing the piece of the floor, and turning to saunter back to Merry.

"Biscuit!"

"Umm, they're actually cookies?" Louise commented, slightly confused. Surely a Hobbit would know their types of confectionery?

"What? No, her name. It's Biscuit." Merry replied, and Katharine laughed at Louise cringing a muttered apology.

"It's alright," Biscuit responded, "It happens a lot."

Jacob smiled over, before glancing to the wolf cub beside him. "Good name. But it still doesn't compare to _Mushu._ "

The daemon in question groaned. "You're not going to let that go in a hurry, are you?"

"Nope." The others - beside Katharine fell into laughter; Louise at the hilarity of the situation, Merry and Pippin at the familiarity - they were like that themselves when they were tweens.

Katharine glanced at the animal that had run to catch up with the apparent Biscuit; it looked somewhat like an otter, but it didn't really seem like one. As she wondered about animal it was, the two Hobbits had wandered over, clearly intrigued by the pair. They had sat themselves down and began to talk as if they'd just rediscovered long lost friends.

She had to admire their front-footed nature. Pippin seemed to notice where she was looking, and waved a hand in front of Katharine face to get her attention.

"Lilly's a Marmot, if that's what you're wondering about." He joked, pulling a smile from nowhere.

"It's like you just read my mind!"

A beat of silence. "Where did you get the cookies from?" Pippin blurted, causing Merry to scold him. The girls smiled.

"It's fine." Katharine responds, folding her arms and leaning forward in her seat. "We'd probably ask the same thing."

"The kitchen's not far from here." Louise said, nodding her head slightly in that direction. Their faces lit up as if they had just been told that Christmas had come early.

To anyone observing the situation, it was alike to a union of old friends, their laughter and joking natures echoing into the much quieter areas nearby.

* * *

"Gandalf, are you certain that they are up for the tasks ahead of them, that they are capable of their endgame?"

The old wizard moved away from the banister, drawing his old aged eyes from the scene below them. His initial belief was that Katharine and Louise appeared at ease with such information, yet the Istari also saw their naivety; untested in battle, and almost wholly clueless in what lay within their futures. It was as if Gandalf had begun to doubt his choices.

Elrond saw the look in his eyes, and gathered such inner turmoil from the lack of response. "They underestimate their chances, _Mithrandir_." He responded, walking over closer to the Wizard. "

The question _why them?_ hangs unspoken in the air once again.

Gollor glanced to Elrond, then to Gandalf, and then back again. "From my initial impressions of the women, I am not convinced." They stated, flapping their wings slightly as they shifted position. "However, I feel that there is _some_ element of potential within them."

"We just need to give them time, and hope they know what they're doing." Gandalf finished, but Elrond still seemed skeptical.

"They still haven't completely agreed to this."

The laughter rang out from the clearing once more, echoing in the reflective silence. "We just need to give them time," he repeated.

Elrond sighs. "I just hope that you are right about this."

And as the conversation between the pair drifted off into final preparations for the council the next day, the laughter of the two women and two Hobbits on the floor below was overheard arriving in from the open windows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this, guys! I had the first half of this written before the last 1,000 words of chapter three - which kind of explains why it was so long!
> 
> Translations:  
> Gollor = Magician  
> Ravonith (since I forgot to mention last time) = wing + sister (suffix)  
> Hiril-nyn = My ladies.
> 
> As for the chocolate cookie bit towards the end, I have a headcanon that Rhûn exports things such as cocoa beans - foodstuffs that we usually exported from tropical countries. 
> 
> Kudos again to Determamfidd for the suggestions for the daemons of existing characters, and thanks to my friend Katharine for the suggestion for her own - she's quite a big Mulan fan, which explains the name :)
> 
> I'd also love to hear some feedback from you guys! What do you like? What don't you like? Anything you'd like to see later? Any headcanons coming up? They're all greatly appreciated, and I'll give big hugs to anyone who does - even if takes me a while (I'm terrible at responding!)
> 
> Anyway, the next chapter is mainly the Council of Elrond, and I promise in Six and possibly Seven, that there might be some character building and training etc.


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So....
> 
> I was initially going to have this out on October 18, AKA my 18th Birthday. Then exams.  
> Then I said to myself Halloween. Nope. I was still half a scene short.
> 
> Bonfire Night on November 5th? Not a chance. 
> 
> NaNoWriMo certainly helped this year, as I wrote most of this then, but I still cut half of the last bit out to leave at the beginning of Chapter 6. I don't like it, but hey, the cut works. :)
> 
> Also, look who managed to update the same day as Dets! Now, I just to work out what's going on with the spacing between lines...
> 
> As always, comments are greatly received, and I hope you enjoy!

She couldn’t sleep. After everything she had done, the one thing Katharine had trouble with was falling asleep. In the little light of the room, she could already see Mushu glaring at her every so often, evidently feeling the strain of consciousness more than she was.  

Finally, she’d had enough. If sleep was going to evade her, then she was going to find it. Lifting the covers away from her, Katharine rose to her feet, ignoring the cooler evening air and how it gradually made her feel more awake. She made to move away, but turned back to Mushu burrowing under the covers, in a clear rebellion against getting out of bed again.

She didn’t hesitate, nor give any warning in the fact she simply picked up the dæmon and walking out.

Katharine crept down the corridor, Mushu being carried in her arms - the end result of an argument between the two, which the lazy oaf definitely won - looking for a place to sit; she was _sure_ there was a bench somewhere in this direction.

The world, in its hushed and tranquil serenity (if only within the valley) seemed to hide a great secret. And it was, Katharine remembered with a jolt, that the Council of Elrond was _tomorrow._ The fate of nine would be set in stone there, the deaths of two would become a definite…

The thought of simply letting them die, when both she and Louise were aware of what was going to happen made her feel sick.Even though Katharine knew Gandalf came back, the thought of letting such a courageous man die in such a way -

She forced herself to think elsewhere; the soft touch of Mushu’s fur upon her bare forearms, the chill in the autumn air that told her that it was going to rain soon. She refused to let herself dwell on the negatives so early; it hadn’t even happened yet, and was something they could quite easily change, if Gandalf’s words from that morning were anything to go by. 

Even without glancing down, she was aware of Mushu staring up at her, so she merely focused on finding a seat with a decent view.

* * *

A contented Jacob glanced over to Louise; to him, it was if she was on the lookout for something, but he couldn’t quite place what it was exactly. But he knew, if he thought about it hard enough, he would figure it out - but sleep, at that point, was more valuable to him. Louise would tell him eventually.

Louise, however, was more content with trying to distract herself from everything. Having found the marble bench too uncomfortable, too biting cold, she had sat upon the ledge before it, legs stretched out before her crossed at the ankles, where Jacob lay curled up around himself.

The night was cold; Louise had realised this too late and had only the warmth of the mug of tea in her hands and dæmon lounging on her feet to keep her content. _Atonement_ lay open on her lap, open at the cusp of Robbie’s escapade through war-torn 1940s France, but she was not interested. Distracting herself only worked to an extent, it seemed.

Every few moments, Louise would peer into the surrounding valley, watching for something that told her more. From what she’d seen earlier, all nine of the Fellowship were already in Rivendell (having already met two of the Hobbits that morning and Gandalf the evening before) so it was just waiting to see if any of the background events happened.

Yet there was nothing. Unless the pair she was most intrigued to see were meeting even further away from prying eyes, it seemed as if the rest of the world was asleep.

It was tranquility in tension.

Louise looks over her shoulder into the corridor behind her when she hears footsteps, closing _Atonement_ , and smiling when she notices Katharine. Picking Jacob up from where he lay, spread out by her feet, she dragged him over to sit on her crossed legs, taking care not to spill the tea, or lose her place within the book, the latter more likely to happen without care.

She sits where Jacob had just been moved from, her back to the view, as she took more care in trying not to fall than Louise. “Can’t sleep either, then?” She asked, wishing that she’d brought a blanket or her coat out with her. Katharine saw the tea in Louise’s hands, and huffed.

“I haven’t been anywhere near my room,” she began, taking a sip of tea. “It hasn’t occurred to me, to go to bed yet?”

“Bloody night owls.” Jacob muttered, causing both Katharine and Louise to glare at him.

“Besides, that’s not the real reason why I’m still up.” she glances out to the valley once more. But with torches dying out elsewhere, both from the winds that danced in the crevasse and from the lack of fuel, there was little to be seen as the light faded, leaving a vast wall of inky darkness behind. “I’ve been thinking -”

“Oh dear _God._ ” Katharine muttered, “Do I really want to hear what stupid plan have you come up with this time?”

“What?!” For once, there was no apparent plan. “No, I mean about what Gandalf said earlier, about us -” she then shifted to be able to use air quotes, “- changing things.”

“Like what? What do you mean?”

Louise leaned forward, the coin chiming daintily against the chain around her neck at the movement. The sound piqued Jacob’s attention, as his ears twitched, before raising his head, his hazel eyes (so much like Louise’s, and yet so different) landing upon the source of the noise. He raised a paw to bat it. An irritated look, shot from Louise made Jacob stop (momentarily)

“Okay, what do you mean by that?” Mushu asked, apparently out of the loop.

“If Gandalf actually is the guy that I met in Waterstones, then he was the one I had a really nerdy conversation with over _Lord of the Rings_ ?” She cringed as she finished, just realising how _stupid_ that sounded saying it out loud, while actually sitting in Rivendell.

“... I’m afraid to ask, but about what, specifically? I mean, I _was_ awake thinking about if - Jacob and Mushu - feel pain when we do; but let’s hear it.”

Louise glanced down to the cooling mug in her hands. “It was mainly personal opinions on the books, unnecessary character deaths, stuff like -” She cuts herself off in a moment of realisation. “Right. Now I’m starting to get what he’s implying.”

Katharine looked at her as if she was crazy. _That wasn’t exactly the road I was thinking down…_

Jacob meanwhile, felt the same, stopping his attempts to attack the necklace, he glared up at Louise. “You’re _mental_ if you actually think that -”

Mushu, who had been sitting on Katharine’s knees, clinging on for dear life to avoid a Mufasa-style incident, gaped up at Louise. “Yep. She _actually_ thinks that’s what it is.”

“So… what?” Louise began, turning back to the valley below them. “I’m not the only one who thought about it - I _know_ you probably have.”

“At some point, yes.” Katharine retorted. “But not in the way that I thought I could actually _do it._ ”

Louise raised an eyebrow, lounging back and turning into the light, clearly doubtful at the response.

“Okay!” Katharine exclaimed, shifting forward, and sending Mushu tumbling to the floor; luckily he managed to transform himself into an eloquent barn owl before he came into contact, soaring slightly before resting finally upon the stone bench nearby. “I _may_ have been thinking about it after figuring it out earlier when we taking with him.”

“...And?” She prompted. Katharine looked down, messing with the watch still upon her left wrist.

“The only way we’d be able to do it, is if we ended up joining the Fellowship.”

“You mean like every fanfiction _ever_ ,” Jacob deadpanned.

Louise huffed. _Obviously_ every fanfiction ever had women - including the dreaded _Mary Sues_ \- join the Fellowship; it was the main storyline, and it was also where most of the action happened. But unlike them, Katharine and Louise were actually concerned about getting things done, rather than who was being saved by who.

“What are you implying?” she said, nose scrunching up in distaste at the idea.

Jacob merely smirked up at her, with all the sass that a cat could muster. “You know _exactly_ what I’m implying.”

He was trying to toy with her, getting her irritated. And it had worked. Her eyes narrowed in frustration, and proceeded to flick Jacob’s ear with her finger. It was only when Louise herself flinched at the action, somehow feeling the same snippet of pain that Jacob had, that the woman realised that she’d messed up.

Katharine, meanwhile, folded her arms and tried to stop the beaming smile off her face. “Well, that answers my question!”

“Yet it’s not the question we _need_ answering right now!”

Katharine rolled her eyes.

The sound of hooves riding into the clearing that marked the entrance of Rivendell brought their attention elsewhere. Louise’s gaze snapped to the new arrival, the torch in the newcomer’s hands flickering violently in the darkness that surrounded them like a shroud.

They couldn’t hear much from where they were, but the arrival of someone else was definitely interesting; it captivated their attention enough that they missed the _other_ event that they’d been secretly waiting for.

Mushu cocked his head in thought. “Who even is that, a bit late isn’t it?”

“… It’s Boromir, if I remember the book correctly.” Katharine muttered, glancing down, head also cocked in the same way.

Jacob secretly found it hilarious.

Louise sighed, running a hand down her face; as she shifted her legs to stop them falling asleep. She knew that there was nothing they could do at that point in time.

“It’s worth a shot, at least.” she concluded. “I mean, Gandalf _did_ bring us here to change things, and I doubt we can do that sitting here for the next six months.”

Katharine nodded, suppressing a yawn. “Seconded.”

“Now that’s sorted, can we _please_ go back to sleep?!” Mushu whined, giving both a disapproving look. Katharine subconsciously went to glance at her watch - with what little different it would make - and stood up, Louise taking Jacob in her arms and following suit.

“Yeah, why not?” They agreed. Louise swiped up her book from where it still sat, and trudged down the corridor; Katharine had already gone, adamant to stop Mushu whining, and fell into deep rest the second they’d become comfortable.

“Yeah, we can bloody do this,” she muttered, reassuring herself ,as she meandered back to her room.

* * *

“Katharine!" 

The shout sounded distant in her half-asleep mind, but being smacked with a pillow - a soft a fluffy pillow, nonetheless - was certainly one way to wake her up.

Being shouted at didn’t help either.

“Louise, what the holy _fuck_ are you -” she turned over, launching the pillow across the room, brushing wayward hair back and getting prepared to shout when she saw her friend. Given how long they’d known one another, Katharine was well educated in little cues that gave away what she was thinking.

And the _stress_ that she could see was ridiculous.

“What happened? Who died?” She joked, and was promptly smacked with another pillow.

“Boromir, if you don’t _hurry the fuck up!_ ” Louise muttered beneath her breath, resisting the urge to just drag Katharine through Rivendell in her pyjamas.

Katharine whined in protest as Louise tried dragging her out of bed; she reached over and threw a pillow back. The muffled swearing told her that she’d managed to get her face.

But while Louise was just stressing out, Katharine wanted to get to the root of the problem before she finally deciding what to do. “How are you even up this early?!”

“It’s almost nine; it’s not even that early!.” She said, hitting her friend with a pillow again. “But that’s not the point. The Council starts in _fifteen minutes._ So get up already!”

That got her attention.

She sat bolt upright; Louise had to bolt back to avoid being on the receiving end of a headbutt.

“ _What?!_ ”

Jacob pounced on the still sleepy Mushu, and was met with what seemed like karmatic justice as he ended up being pushed off the bed onto the floor.

Katharine meanwhile jumped out of bed, and started pushing Louise (who had begun throwing more stuff, notably any clothes she could reach) out the door,

She turned around, huffing and now made that difficult decision. While she liked the idea of wearing the medieval style dresses, she did not like the idea of running (or rather, falling) in one. But she didn’t feel like jeans at that point.

She looked at the dress once more, and just thought ’ _fuck it’_ before pulling it on. As she reclined back down on the bed to pull her shoes on, she could hear Louise’s pacing and muttering under her breath, and it was already getting on her nerves.

“Yes _alright_ I am coming!” she whined, wrenching the door open; Louise turned around, huffed, and moved quicker than Katharine _thought possible._

_Seriously, she should stop underestimating friends while they’re stressed._

“Come on!” She reached blindly for her friend’s hand, grasping it tightly before bolting from the room, dragging Katharine behind her. “We’ve _got_ to be in the room when this happens!”

A beat.

“Was that deliberate?!”

A high five was shared between the girls.

* * *

 The light autumn breeze littered through their surroundings, tugging at their loose hair, fur and feathers; the cooler trails seemed to coax them into looking the other way, to hiding away from their responsibilities (which the pair generally did) and just relax.

But they knew perfectly well that if they missed the council, and the Fellowship by extension, the pair would have failed the main reason why Gandalf had brought them there in the first place.

The race through the corridors set their nerves on edge. It was too quiet for them. Louise thought they’d been thrust into a survival horror, and more than willing to start beating the crap out of a zombie if it came to it.

“Wait, how do you know where we’re going?” Mushu wondered, panting. “I mean, as much as I’d _love_ to see this, I don’t think the lot of us hiding in the room is going to work. Merry and Pippin barely get away with it!”

Katharine, who unlike Mushu had been paying attention, caught on almost immediately. “We’re not.” With the four rushing up another flight of stairs, her breath caught as she tried to carry on; she had to wait a moment before continuing. “The Council is most likely going to be held in Elrond’s study, and we’ve just ran past that.”

“Yeah, apparently Merry and Pippin found it last night,” Louise sighed, counting the rooms as they jogged past. Her eyes lingered on one, open a crack on their left, which almost seemed like the perfect space for eavesdropping on a conversation. She didn’t know exactly why - maybe because it was the only open door, but her curiosity won out.

Peering down the corridor to find it empty, she sprinted over, and scarpered into the room. Pushing the door open, Louise swings it open, turning to stand behind and support the door while Katharine and Mushu followed suit.

Katharine grabbed the door and edged it shut, hoping nobody saw them all bolt in, before they both caught a brief look around the room. which itself opened out onto a small balcony.

"Strangers from distant lands..." They heard Elrond begin.

"Shit, they've already started!"

They crept as loud as they dared to the open window, Louise standing on one side, Katharine on the other. Louise pushed her shoulder into the wall to try and get more leverage to see down. Katharine had no trouble watching, which irritated Louise greatly.

As they looked down, occasionally moving to keep themselves hidden, or to see past the marble sides of the balcony, both unanimously made note that the seating arrangements looked similar, if not the exact copy, as in the Peter Jackson films. But with that in mind, what interested them a lot more were the dæmons sitting, hovering, or lounging about their humans.

Elrond’s cobra, Glorfindel’s peacock and Gandalf’s pheasant were there and those they could recognise from personal interactions. The two Hobbits - Bilbo nearer Gandalf, Katharine mused, given that he looked older, and Frodo sitting directly on the end - had an animal they weren't 100% on, and a snow white rabbit, respectively.

As they watched Frodo stand, their gazes differed, even as both flickered back to the centre plinth as the Ring was placed down. They both flickered their eyes away as if glaring into the sun, as if in a small degree of pain.

Katharine looked to the right, to where the Elves and Dwarves had been sat. _A terrible decision to have them next to each other_ , she scathed, curious to see who would set who off this time. Given that the Dwarves were mostly all silver-haired by this point, it was quite obvious to find Gimli sitting in the crowd.

And from that angle it was virtually impossible to see Gimli’s dæmon from where it was lounging beneath Gimli’s chair. The bright red fur that mixed with the sight of Gimli’s mass of bright ginger hair narrowed the choices exceptionally.

Meanwhile, Louise looked left, to where the humans were sat. With the seating plan in mind, her eyes went to the very end, to where she guessed Aragorn would be sitting. _Bloody typical that they both tried to find their favourite characters first._

When she noticed the wolf reclining beside him, she scoffed. It fitted his personality to a ‘T’, and wondered what variation of ‘not all those who wander are lost’ went with her name. Her darker fur looked as if would perfectly blend in with the wilds beyond the Hidden Valley.

She looked further right at movement. Rising to his feet, she could only guess that it was Boromir - the finery, the hair, and the also the fact he was talking about that riddle he’d received in a dream. The stag situated beside his chair also moving to sit prouder, trying to make an impression.

They watched as the man rose to his feet, muttering lowly, eyes focused on one place, and one place only. The plinth in the centre of the balcony.

 _Don’t you dare,_ Katharine thought, resisting the temptation to shout down the same phrase.

His hand outstretched, inching closer. Everyone grew tense, and was it a mistake or did Boromir’s dæmon bow their head, also not agreeing with his actions?

“Isildur’s Bane is found.” Though Boromir had muttered it to be heard by himself only, both were listening out for it.

Louise turned her head back to the balcony, an underlying anger at the man’s _stupidity_ seething there, and just counted how long it would be until he’d be shouted at.

Turns out, fifteen seconds.

“Boromir!”

Gandalf’s roar, though they had expected it, made the pair nearly shit themselves. With the Istari quoting the Black Speech inscribed on the ring, the males downstairs close to panic, the girls just face palmed.

“For heaven's _sake._ ” Katharine muttered, tying her hair back.

“Oh my _God._ ” Louise groaned. “ _Idiot._ ”

Boromir made a hasty retreat back to his chair, stag raising its head to retain some element of dignity. But Louise wondered whether it was actually attempting to hide the shame that Boromir was having more trouble trying to hide, reclining in his seat.

“Never before has any tongue uttered those words in _Imladris,_ ” Elrond commented as he turned his gaze to the Wizard.

Katharine scoffed. “Yeah, like you’re going to be able to tell _Gandalf_ what to do.”

“Well people are going to bloody well try, aren’t they?”

“They’re not going to get very far.”

Gandalf turned back from addressing those assembled to go and seat. “The Ring is altogether evil.”

Boromir shook his head, eyes still fixed on the thing in the room he wanted - _needed_ \- the most. “It is a _gift._ ” He stood once more. “A gift from the foes of Mordor! Why not use this Ring?”

“You know bloody well why not,” Louise muttered; hindsight was a wonderful thing, and even though his frankly _desperate_ motives were justified, she still thought he was a little stupid. _Should have sent Faramir._

Then Aragorn pitched in, causing _that_ comment. Louise was _not_ pleased. “Give it three months and you’ll change your mind, idiot,” she muttered.

Katharine gave Louise a look - similar to the look used by children about people they liked (and she did idolise the man after all)- before she whined, rolling her eyes as if remembering something unfavourable. Jacob shared a glance with Louise, who were both still not comprehending what was up with her.

“What?” Louise whispered over.

“Axe.” was the reply. The pair were initially stunned before the dæmon remembered. He covered away on the desk as Louise turned back to the Council itself.

As Gimli roared, reaching for the _axe_ behind him, she remembered.

As Gimli was thrown backwards, the red wolf beside his chair cowering slightly, and the double-headed axe shattering, Katharine could hear a silver-tongued voice whispering to her, coaxing her downwards.

She felt the colour drain from her cheeks, and glancing over to see Louise significantly paler, Jacob shying away from the noise, she knew she’d also heard it.

“You okay?” She prompted; Louise bit her top lip between her teeth, gaze not moving from the scene below as she nodded.

There was a pause, as they considered what they could say. What _could_ they say?

“...This just sort of became more - _real_ , didn’t it?” Louise breathed.

It unnerved them both with the fact that they heard _The One Ring_ trying to corrupt them _already._

Both had always been so sure they wouldn’t fall, that they were too strong to be corrupted.

But now? Now, Louise wasn’t entirely sure.

“This is definitely now a lot harder.” Katharine agreed, casting her gaze back down once more.

“One of _you,_ must do this.” Elrond continued. He was met with complete silence

Jacob and Mushu shared a look. _Oh no. The Meme._

Boromir pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly _fed up_ with the situation, and said the line, beginning his speech.

The pair shared a look, and were fighting to keep themselves silent. Louise immediately bit into her knuckles to stop herself from giving their position away, shoulders shaking wildly.

Katharine meanwhile was keeping herself in a more dignified way of staying quiet. And by that, she slid down to the floor and curled up into a ball clutching her stomach.

Okay, it was _less_ dignified.

The council continued on as they tried to control themselves; Katharine managed to look up to find Louise still laughing, but with tears brimming in her eyes.

“Are you alright?” Mushu asked her; she nodded, sighing and trying to stop herself from descending into giggles once more.

“I don’t understand how an internet joke could get such a reaction.”

“You wouldn’t,” Katharine muttered, wiping her own eyes and climbing back to her feet.

They looked over the edge just as the arguing started. “I will be dead before I see the Ring in the hands on an Elf!” Gimli roared, setting everyone off.

They resisted the urge to facepalm again. (Unlike Aragorn who was just sitting there, head in hands.)

“How long do you think they’ll keep _this_ up?” Louise asked.

“About five minutes, give or take?”

They sigh. Gimli and Legolas were at one another’s throats, leading to the Elves and the Dwarves as a whole to turn against one another. The Men were fighting and arguing between themselves - led by Boromir, who else? - and it was utter chaos. The film really do justice to just how utterly ridiculous the whole scenario had become.

As time continued, being drawn out by the girls’ desire to just _do something_ , Louise began lightly scratching an itch on her arm in boredom.

Katharine noticed, and immediately swatted her hands away.

“Stop scratching; the ink will run and you’ll have to get them done again.”

Louise whined, both at the irritation, and the thought of having to be stabbed with the tattoo gun _again._ “Keep talking like that and I’ll stab _you_ with a needle for two hours.” she muttered.

“I know; that’s why I telling you. Who the fuck wants to be stabbed that many times?”

Louise just looked over at her. “Don’t you dare answer that.”

A beat.

“ _Stop it._ ”

“I’m sorry, but it _itches_ ; I can’t exactly help it!”

“Then roll your sleeves down!” Mushu piped up, curling down again on the table.

Louise gave the dæmon a skeptical look. “How is that going to work?”

She rolls down her sleeves anyway.

“While you two are discussing _that_ stupid decision,” Jacob began, ignoring Louise’s glare. “We need to actually decide what we’re doing before we make another one!”

It was something they’d all overlooked. While they’d focused on actually signing up, they never considered just how they’d do it. And for Katharine’s degree of social anxiety, this was not going to be fun.

Luckily Louise was already considering options, another benefit of an overactive brain.

“Do you think that we should volunteer like Merry and Pippin?” She whispered over, “Go bursting into the Council and signing up that way?”

Katharine just gave her a look, neither aware that the room beneath them had begun to turn quiet with Frodo volunteering. “But that means having to find something intelligent and witty to say, and I can’t do it on demand. I need time!”

 _I mean you’ve had years, but fine,_ she thought, trying desperately to not be sarcastic at this point. “So… book version it is?”

Katharine huffed. “Damn right.” To Louise, it sounded as if they’d both settled a business proposition, and she had to fight to retain a straight face.

“...You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring,” they heard Elrond announce from downstairs, and they both paled a little.

“Were we talking through that _entire section_?!”

“Oh shit.” They panicked. “Did they hear us?”

“I bloody hope not. And they won’t if we shut up.”

They both turned to Jacob, who was glaring at them both, and then went back to observing. Not that there was much to wait for anymore; they’d both talked through the most important milestone so far!

The pair waited as everyone filed out, leaving the nine, Elrond still standing there before them, and Glorfindel sitting somewhere they could barely see at the edge of the balcony. From what Katharine could see through the curtains was Merry and Pippin talking between themselves, the latter glancing upwards to their small balcony, almost impatiently waiting for something else. Gandalf glanced up once and Katharine could have _sworn_ that she saw him wink knowingly.

The hubbub moved away, and the door as heard shutting as the last person left.

“Wait, I’m pretty sure we’re forgetting something.” Jacob mused.

The girls shared an apprehensive glance as Elrond turned away from the nine. He nodded to Glorfindel - who seemed as if he was waiting for a surprise. Like a child on Christmas.

“And if anyone _else_ is willing to help, they are more than welcome to attend _now_ ,” Elrond announced, sounding like a sighing parent at the end of their patience.

Katharine facepalmed, and Louise rested her forehead against the wall. “Dammit.” She hissed.

“Elven hearing.” Katharine groaned into her palm. The one thing you couldn’t _possibly_ forget!

Louise sighed in irritation, before shoving herself away from the wall and walking towards the door.

“What are you doing?” Katharine remarked, grabbing Louise’s forearm.

“Going down there.” She replied simply. “That _is_ what we were planning to do, right?”

“Are you _insane?!_ ”

“Probably.” She shrugged, heading down to the door, Jacob leaping from the table to perch precariously upon Louise’s shoulder. “I’ll talk if that’s what you’re worried about.”

She sighed in relief. “Thanks.” Katharine smiled, following her out.

It was only a flight of stairs, but both felt like they were heading a lot further; both were worried about this - _what if they say no?! -_ both they both kept reason with the hope that really only _one_ of the ten people in that room had motives to say no.

Somehow, everyone who had initially been in the council had already disappeared besides one or two - Louise guessed Gloin was there waiting for Gimli, and possibly Bilbo was there too, but she tried not to pay that much attention.

The door was already ajar. She pushed the door open.

As they moved in, Louise glanced up to Jacob, who she just realised was still sitting on her shoulder. As a cat. It was not exactly comfortable.

As they sauntered in, several of the Fellowship looking over at the two arriving, Louise watched as Elrond just performed the most elegant and discreet facepalm she’d ever seen. She raised an eyebrow. “Who pissed _him_ off?”

Katharine then facepalmed, groaning. “Seriously? _That’s_ how you’re introducing yourself.”

Glorfindel was just sitting in the corner of the room, trying not to laugh; it wasn’t working very well.

“Yeah.” Louise grinned, shrugging. “It’s worked, I’ll tell you that.”

“Were you two listening in on the council?”

The pair tried to look sheepish, but they couldn’t stop the smiles. It seemed to make some of the other laugh. Gandalf had that notorious mischievous look in his eye, and Gimli appeared to be quite entertained with the whole scenario. In fact, it seemed that Boromir, Legolas and Sam were the only ones not entirely pleased with them.

So they tried working with _that_.

They nodded.

“And did you consider the proposition?”

The pair nodded again.

“And?” The boa queried, still reclined around Lord Elrond’s shoulders.

“We want in.” Louise stated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Daemon list for the Fellowship; thanks to Dets for the ideas once again (although I did change a few)  
> Aragorn - Direwolf  
> Boromir - Stag  
> Gimli - Red Wolf  
> Legolas - Hawk
> 
> Frodo- White Rabbit  
> Sam - Badger  
> Merry - Otter  
> Pippin - Yellow Bellied Marmot
> 
> Some of the names will gradually be introduced (once I think of all of them!)


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I was so sure I was going to have this out before Christmas! I am so sorry everyone!  
> But on a FAR more positive note, I have now finished Sixth Form, and am currently on a gap year before University, meaning potentially more time to write this (and I have been writing! I had the next 4 or 5 chapters being written at the same time, it was just minor things that stopped all of the chapters being released :)   
> (If anyone’s wondering about my A level results, I got ABC)
> 
> But here we are! And I hope you enjoy.

It was this aftermath that truly determined who thought what of the pair so far.

 

Aragorn looked as though stunned. As if he still couldn’t get over the fact that they’d both been undetected in the hour or so they’d observed the council; Elrond’s decision to add them to the Fellowship appeared to be taken in good faith, and he seemed to be on board almost immediately. Louise felt it must have been due to being around so many rangers, that _some_ must have ultimately been women.

 

Katharine noted that Merry and Pippin were ecstatic, and really weren’t hiding that as they cheered. Gimli also voiced his ascent, the red fox that now could be clearly seen almost smiling at the women. _Formidable Dwarrowdams are like Viking Women_ , Katharine remembered Louise saying once.

 

Gandalf just looked like _Gandalf_ , mischievous and acting as if he knew it was going to happen. (It was always _going_ to happen with these two, but it was just a matter of time.)

 

Boromir, however, looked appalled at the idea, immediately breaking out in dispute.

 

“Absolutely not.”

 

Katharine’s mouth just opened, and Louise huffed. “And why the hell not?” She said, not hiding the majority of defensive malice behind her gaze, determined and essentially glaring at the Gondorian.

 

Boromir didn’t seem to have a decent response to that, and from the expression on the deer’s face, the silence was perhaps better than the response he was thinking of.

 

“We can defend ourselves better than they can!” Katharine shot back, indicating the four Hobbits standing before them.

 

Nobody really knew what to say, what route the argument would take, as Boromir and Katharine remained at a standoff - sassy remarks being passed to and fro - until Frodo stood firm once more.

 

“I trust them.”

 

Neither were not expecting _that_ turn of opinion so quickly. And, given the similar reactions, neither was anyone else. Katharine blinked owlishly for a moment before glancing over to Boromir and the stag reclining to his left, and smiling.

 

At last, Boromir relented. “All right. They can come, but _both_ need to be able to prove that they are capable to withstand what they are getting themselves into” he compromised. The stag stared at his counterpart for a moment, before smiling an indistinguishable amount.

 

"Are you sure you know what this is going to entail?" he asked them.

 

"Yes!" they replied. The _maybe_ was left unsaid. There was a look shared between Elrond and Gandalf that went unnoticed by most of those present.

 

After the council, the pair were ecstatic. After they'd all left, Katharine and Louise had hidden in Louise's borrowed room, and after roughly 45 minutes of pure fangirling, they got to work.

 

Louise, fuelled by spite at this point (already!) was adamant that they'd both be able to prove they were up to the task; going by the book's timeline they had two months, they could become more deadly fighters in that time, even if it was only a small amount. And they already had a head start on the Hobbits, given that she was already an adequate archer, and Katharine had _some_ training in aikido, they were already ahead.

 

(But the Hobbits _had_ gone up against several of the Wraiths at Weathertop, so they had the mark for experience…)

 

Lounging on the bed, head hanging off the edge, Katharine realised they hadn’t seen half of their stuff for the two days. Until, that is, she became aware she was staring at some of it.

 

“Hang on a minute!” She interrupted, Louise stopping in the contemplation of getting Katharine into archery, “When did you get those back?” Katharine lazily pointed over to the small pile of clothes sitting on the table; a small noise of acknowledgement from Louise told her she’d seen.

 

“No idea. Must have brought them back when we weren’t in here,” she mused. Jacob stretched before Louise got up and checked the stuff over.

 

Everything that she’d worn on two days ago back to Olivia’s party was there, when concerning clothes at least. She picked up her bag and checked through, throwing books onto the desk, Jacob ended up almost catching a pen to the face in her search. Hand santiser, portable phone charger, car keys and train pass all also ended up in different areas of the room.

 

Eventually, the bag was empty, and Louise was positive that she had everything, and then packed it all away.

 

“Wait.” She stopped, as she dropped it back beneath the desk. “Where’s the hidden blade?”

 

“You didn’t leave it behind before we met Glorfindel, did you?” Katharine asked.

 

“I was wearing it! I’m not _that_ forgetful!”

 

“Yeah, that’s more of a thing I’d do.”

 

They thought in silence. “So where is it?” Jacob voiced.

 

“I don’t know. I swear I left it in here, though.” For a moment, she stopped searching and stared at a random place in the distance, thinking through her options.

 

Katharine lobbed her train pass to grab her attention. “Maybe we go and find Elrond and ask him if he knows?”

 

“You mean these?” They glanced to the newly-opened door to see the Elf they were looking for now entering the room. He was followed by another Elf, whose hair was cropped short and close to their neck; their face was flushed, as if they’d been somewhere with a long exposure to heat. The salamander clung to their neck as if cold.

 

And in their hands were the fake weapons they’d been using.

 

The pair hummed their acknowledgement.

 

“Why did you end up taking them?” Jacob asked.

 

The snake, still draped around Elrond’s shoulders lifted her head. “You will need weapons to defend yourself, will you not?”

 

Mushu glanced up. “You’re going to actually make us weapons?”

 

“Not me,” they nodded their head back to the other Elf. “But they have offered to.”

 

They both hid there in the bedroom until what they guessed was about five in the evening. They shared most of the bag, stopping at the point when Katharine felt slightly sick.

 

Then Merry and Pippin arrived and ate the rest. Which was probably a terrible idea in hindsight.

 

It became even better when they felt even worse than Louise and Katharine did when they all ended up in the Hall of Fire. While the Hobbits all sort of enjoyed the attention, talking to a range of people, those that the pair recognised, those that they didn’t, the girls immediately avoided the main areas of the room. Essentially hugging the walls, they worked their way over to what seemed to be the area that was more reserved corner of the room, where less attention was being held.

 

They couldn’t escape from all the attention, with some guests, even those the far side of the room were sometimes sparing looks in their direction. It wasn’t doing much to help their

 

But then they found Merry and Pippin, so moved to talk with them. Sam came and went, he and the badger not completely trusting the pair, but found them amicable company after a few moments. He soon disappeared when Frodo made an appearance.

 

Katharine at one point in the continuing conversation realised that Louise wasn’t nearby; upon glancing around the room, she found her still sitting in the windowsill, talking to Gimli, Jacob reclining against her foot. From what she observed, the pair (and the red wolf perched beside him) were talking about tattoos. Louise had rolled up her right sleeve, showing the Dwarrow the small image inked there. Which somehow drifted from that conversation, to archery? It was only a matter of time before it did, but Louise could have been a little more subtle.

 

“Oh come _on!_ ” Louise joked. “Archery’s not that bad!” She’d been trying to convince Gimli that just because the Elves prefered the weapon didn’t mean the sport was a complete miss. She wasn’t getting far, and in return the Dwarf attempted to prove axes as far more formidable weapons. Gimli was making far more persuasive success.

 

“Lassie, _anyone_ can pick up a stick and call it a bow, but it takes real _skill_ to fight with an axe.”

 

She shrugged. “A bow was the first weapon I found that sort of felt comfortable using.” She clarified. “I tried sword fighting once when I was nine. _Once._ ”

 

Jacob looked over. “Whatever happened at Warwick Castle doesn’t count. If you could even call that fencing.”

 

Frodo seemed perhaps unsure of where to go for a time; Aragorn who had delved into conversation with an elderly Hobbit Katharine could only assume was Bilbo, Merry and Pippin had long since vanished from the scene, and Sam dozed in one secluded corner of the room, badger resting between his leg and that of the chair. Louise still sat in conversation with Gimli, but her friend noticed that she tried to hide a yawn every now and then. Katharine spent some time just watching everyone else in the room, taking in the dæmons associated with each; there were numerous animals accustomed to the wild, but it was Arwen’s dæmon that caught her eye. A regal swan remained beside her, less-than-discretely displaying affection towards the Direwolf that was the Ranger’s.

 

Legolas had been ample conversation initially, but quickly moved to talk with Elves more of his generation, and from Katharine’s belief, ones he found more trust in. She didn’t blame him, if she was being honest: he’d known both her and Louise for less than a day, and needed to make his mind up eventually. And without their influence. Gaerphen, his hawk, found more in judging them with a critical eye, as if watching prey.

 

Mushu was surprised when Frodo decided to sit with him and Katharine. When she finally realised, he and rabbit were already starting a conversation.

 

“Hi.” She moved over to make space for him to sit down nearby. “It’s busier than I thought it would be in here. And warmer, and less _formal_.”

 

He nodded, sitting in the window chairs beside Katharine. “I seem to have talked to everyone in the Hall besides you both.”

 

“Well Merry and Pippin do talk a lot.” Snowdrop commented, before indicating for aid to sit herself on the bench.

 

“True, but they’re good company.”

 

Katharine grinned. “I like them. They remind me of friends I knew at school.”

 

“And they seem to like you, as well.”

 

“Was that before or after I bribed them with food?” The four laughed: two because they knew making friends nearly always worked when food was involved, and two as they had know Merry and Pippin long enough to know any mention of food would immediately earn them a friend.

 

Their conversation was civil, neither moving onto the obvious topic of the Ring, but instead asking about home. It was mainly Katharine and Mushu answering questions, but it was pleasant to find the similarities between Hobbit and British cultures; Katharine perhaps felt a little bit of disappointment at the fact she didn’t get to see the Shire.

 

But there was something that hadn’t been discussed that piqued curiosity that Katharine would love answered.

 

“I’m sorry, but I have to ask, but why did you trust us so easily back at the Council?” Katharine said. “You’ve never even met us before, let alone been able to know how we act.”

 

The rabbit, Snowdrop as they now knew, turned her head to think over their response. “So you’re asking why?” The girl and Mushu hummed in response. “It’s perhaps a feeling, but you both _feel_ trustworthy. Definitely more trustworthy than the Sackville-Bagginses anyway.”

 

The pair looked almost confused. Frodo meanwhile looked almost insulted that Snowdrop would say anything bad about the Sackville-Bagginses. Well, at least out loud. But he wasn’t going to deny that he agreed with her.

 

“Dæmons are able to tell if another is trustworthy and true, or not.” he elaborated. “If they trust the person then it’s likely that the person will follow suit.”

 

Katharine attempted to hide a sigh, trying to avoid looking in the direction of Boromir across the room. But the Hobbit noticed.

 

“They’ll come around. Maybe not straight away, but they will.”

 

It was a week before the pair saw another weapon; most of the time they’d spent trying to gain survival skills or just exploring further - they were only going to be in Rivendell _once_ after all. The pair felt as if they were preparing for The Hunger Games or something similar, and then they realised, they probably were.

 

Louise secretly picked being Katniss if it did happen. Katharine let her. (She liked Johanna better.)

 

That morning when the pair, dæmons in tow, made their way down to the forges as requested, where Elrond was waiting for them. Behind him, working while they waited for the women to arrive, were three or four Elven blacksmiths. Elrond had mentioned before that they some understanding of the Common Tongue, but not enough to hold an adequate conversation, so he would translate where needed.

 

Neither had been inside a forge before, so the sudden blast of heat from the fires that escaped into the mild Autumn morning was a surprise to the two. The tangy smell of different metals assaulted their senses as they walked in, taking in as much as they could in the smokey and darker room. The wall of heat when they walked in took a moment to get over and assimilate.

 

Formal introductions came and went, and it was Katharine who had to maintain composure as she watched Louise attempt to explain Hidden Blades and how they actually functioned as a weapon. Something that was rather difficult when she only had the plastic replicas on hand.

 

Eventually, Louise realised that she was doing all the explaining by herself. “ _Any_ time you’d like to pitch in is always appreciated.”

 

“You appear to have it handled, and you know more than me regardless.”

 

Louise rolled her eyes, and went back to explaining. “Anyway, from what I remember of the designs for the working blades, there was some element of a lever or trigger that allows the blade to eject and retract, but there’s no real design for it that’s public knowledge.”

 

The Smiths nodded, eyes alight at the challenge presented there. They shared a glance. “It should be no problem.”

 

Louise’s face was engulfed in awe. “Really?! You could make a working pair?”

 

The Smiths then presented small, proud smiles. “We are not Dwarves, but we can create weapons and designs of a similar standard.” The salamander beside her neck bristled, before moving to already begin designing sketches.

 

The girls glanced back to Elrond, but found that he’d excused himself to talk to the other Smiths in the forge.

 

“Is there anything else that you’d need to know to get this to work?” Katharine asked, holding her arm out so that the other Smith, one who had been generally silent while they talked through the weapons and sketches, could take measurements for the swords and knives.

 

They shook their head. “No. If there is, we will find you.”

 

As soon as they had left the room, and Louise was _sure_ that Elrond and the smiths were out of range, she couldn't stop the second wave of fangirling on that day alone. She clutched onto Katharine's forearm, jumping up and down looking like an overactive child at Christmas.

 

"Have you had any chocolate today?!" She clarified, knowing that the treat was the reason for most hyperactivity.

 

Louise shook her head, Katharine watching her stop jumping. "Nope. Not yet.” Her smile hadn’t diminished. “I’ve been wanting an actual _hidden blade_ for years!”

 

Katharine decided to ignore that. She’d calm down soon enough.

 

“Okay,” Katharine exhaled, clapping her hands together. “Now where do you want to explore? Library? I think they said Aragorn might be in there.”

 

“Yeah, why not? Besides, we need to sort out who’s teaching us what exactly.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Names of the Fellowship’s daemons are as:  
> Aragorn - Rhawthel (Roo) Meaning ‘untamed sister’. And Roo is pronounced like the French ‘Rue’ which means ‘street’.  
> Boromir - Arvedui. The name of the last king of the Arthedaui (and the poor guy didn’t have a fun life)  
> Frodo - Snowdrop. As in the flower; it’s one of my personal favourites and represents ‘hope’.  
> Gandalf - Gollor. It means Magician (I have a headcanon that all Istari have gender neutral daemons given that there are both male and female Istari - with the Blue Wizards being sisters)  
> Katharine - Mushu. It’s Eddie Murphy’s character in Mulan  
> Legolas - Gaerphen. It translates to Golden Red.  
> Louise - Jacob. Dear Jacob Frye, with Jacob meaning ‘the supplanter’  
> Merry - Biscuit, as in the food.  
> Pippin - Lilly. Again, the flower which represents ‘innocence’ and ‘purity’  
> Sam - Amber, meaning the gem that can have animals preserved in them.
> 
> I tried to be as symbolic as possible, and I’m hoping that some of it works out (as some of it isn’t as discrete as it possibly could have been)  
> But Gimli’s is the only one I’m having trouble naming, so if anyone has ideas or suggestions, I’d be more than welcome. 
> 
> I’m also not 100% happy with this chapter; there was some sections that felt almost forced, and other pieces that just didn’t want to be written (hence why this took so long)


	7. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween guys! It’s officially 1 year after the date I had this set in Chapter 1 (Oct 2016, in case you’re wondering)
> 
> We finally get to leave Rivendell! Time for the events of the series to officially take off!
> 
> I was so hoping to have this up by my 19th birthday - October 18th - but of course, I didn’t. To be fair, I don’t always write chronologically, and have ended up writing parts so much later in the story before I had ideas for some of this chapter… It works, trust me.
> 
> But it’s here now! So here we go!

As they promised, Aragorn, Legolas, and Boromir taught them to fight when they were able. The former two taught them archery, while sword fighting and sparring was mainly Boromir’s responsibility.

 

Louise had been a keen archer for years and so held the advantage over her friend, but Katharine was more than capable of learning quickly and catching up to her friend - Mushu distracting her to allow Katharine to win challenges brought competition between the two. (Louise proved quicker when reloading arrows, but spent longer than her friend aiming. Katharine was more responsive to targets and changes. Both were _far_ better than Boromir, who was rather bitter about it.)

 

Aragorn also helped Boromir teach them hand-to-hand combat, which mainly involved swords. But, as he was still needed to also teach the Hobbits when able _and_ go on reconnaissance missions for Elrond or the Dunedain, it usually feel upon the Captain to teach.

 

And unlike the ranger, Boromir’s structure of teaching was more methodical, preferring to learn with repeated rhythmic patterns that both girls loathed. The sets were sometimes long and arduous, but neither gave anyone a reason to keep them behind, meeting the tasks head-on with only mild complaining in the evenings.

 

It also allowed Boromir to cheat and catch them out several times in a row, especially when they thought they knew what they were doing.

 

One particular afternoon into a typical sparring session found Louise being tripped _again_ because she stopped paying attention. Katharine would have laughed, but she knew she was going next, and was probably going to experience the same thing.

 

A normal sparring session unfolded in late November, Louise trying again to at least have a result that resembled a victory, when a feint from Boromir that she was not anticipating sent her stumbling.

 

Another attempt resulted in her being tripped again. For a moment, she didn’t bother getting up, moving to lie on her back, arms covering her eyes. “Any chance you’d be kind enough and let me have a break?” she said after getting her breath back.

 

“Do you think that the enemy will be kind?” he responded, moving back to spar again. “Again.”

 

With a whine, an exhausted Louise climbed to her feet, picking up the sparring sword. The advantage of being left-handed had only lasted so long; Boromir had no doubt be trained to anticipated both left and right-handed opponents, contrary to what she was expecting.

 

As Louise felt confident in trying again, she felt a sharp blow to her lower back. Yet sharp enough to catch her off guard. She fell to her knees, palms resting on the grass with a swear. She felt the blunt sparring sword rest upon her exposed neck.

  
  
“Unfortunately. You're now dead” Boromir quipped, moving the sparring sword away.

  
  
Louise sat back before climbing to her feet. She rubbed her neck. “I don't get it, how did-”

  
  
Boromir nodded to her left. She looked over and huffed. There, Louise found Arvedui pinning Jacob down with one of his antlers.

  
  
“Your dæmon also needs to fully prepare for battle as well. Just because you are competent does not mean he is.”

  
  
“Rude!”' Jacob roared out, trying to wiggle his way out from beneath where Arvedui had pinned him. With the stag not giving in, Jacob had no choice but to try biting their antlers. It did nothing besides irritate Arvedui into moving away for a brief respite.

 

“So you admit it?” Louise piped up. “You _do_ think that Katharine and I are good enough.”

 

“I don’t recall saying anything along those lines.”

 

“Maybe not so much now.” Louise huffed. “But you clearly implied it before.”

 

Katharine piped up. “And you weren’t subtle!” causing the two to huff a small laugh. “Right, it’s my turn.”

 

“Yes! Please don’t take your time getting your arse kicked while I laugh. I want a nap and I don’t want to miss anything.” Jacob quipped, before having to leap out of the way to avoid Mushu swiping at his nose.

 

Jacob shouted with joy as he collapsed by Louise’s side, eager to watch Mushu get the same treatment.

 

Dragging herself to stand, Katharine stopped for a moment to think. She stared off into the trees behind Louise’s shoulder, before grabbing her glasses and taking them off. She handed them over to Louise who was now passing her.

 

“Look after these, would you?”

 

Jacob looked sceptical. “How the hell are you going to see without those?”

 

“I’m not _that_ blind!”

 

Louise squinted through the lenses. “Are you entirely sure about that?”

 

Katharine rolled her eyes and walked away to go and do something more productive with her time.

 

“Just because _you_ don’t need glasses doesn’t mean everyone’s eyesight is perfect.” Mushu commented, as both teen and dæmon prepared for yet another match.

 

“Are you _sure_ you’re going to be alright without them?”

 

Katharine huffed. “I hope so. I just don’t want to break them.”

 

“You’ll break something else if you’re not paying attention.” Mushu snapped, moving to get ready. Katherine's first swing almost appeared to go wide, Mushu running at full force towards Arvedui; both opponents merely stepped aside. Katharine could hear Louise teasing her, and it took all of her effort to keep focused on the fight.

 

Another few swings in the same fashion got Katharine nowhere but one move closer to tripping over her own feet. Mushu’s attempts to get out-smart Arvedui resulted in the same stalemate. It seemed as if Boromir was now moving to antagonise Katharine to have her make a mistake. “ _That_ , is an excellent swing for killing chickens.”

 

“But I thought the idea was to _stop_ Katharine hitting herself.” Jacob called.

 

“LOUISE!”

 

The girl’s jaw dropped, huffing. “It’s not even my fault?!”

 

But it was enough for Katharine to take her eye off what she was doing, distracting Mushu at the same time, which allowed Arvedui to take the opportunity. Her hesitation meant the stag had the window to pin down Mushu, and allowed for the Captain to strike forward.

 

At Louise’s shout, she turned in time to move, but Katharine’s hesitation to truly attack sent her also tripping onto the grass.

* * *

 

 

Before their eyes, a windy november turned into a blistering December, and their departure from Rivendell drew nearer. Neither was concerned with Christmas (not that either remembered) but instead of carols and tinsel, it was camping and training.

 

Merry and Pippin stumbled across the two an afternoon or two later, during their break from a particularly vicious sparring session. Jacob and Mushu looked as if they wanted nothing more than to sleep for _days_ , and while Biscuit and Lilly would have mocked them, they knew they were going to be next. And Arvedui was taking his tense nature out on the rest of them. Nobody was pleased.

 

There was a small sound of greeting from Katharine from her position hunched over and breathing heavy, with Louise simply raising an arm from where it lay over her eyes.

 

“I think Lord Elrond’s looking for the pair of you.” Both Katharine and Louise whined and glanced with as little effort

 

“Any idea why?”

 

Pippin shrugged. “I heard the word ‘weapons’ but not really anything after -”

 

Louise sat bolt upright and Katharine looked floored. “I can’t believe they actually made them” she whispered.

 

“I didn’t think they’d be able to do it.” Louise was dumbfounded. She turned to Katharine. “Want to go get them now? It’s technically Merry and Pippin’s turn to have their arses kicked.”

 

Katharine was already running to the forges.Her fingers itched to try the new gladius and bow that was now _hers_.

* * *

"Katharine." Louise said, and Katharine turned to find her with big pleading eyes, and a grin like a child's at Christmas. "We _have_ to try these out!" She clapped the hidden blades together slightly in her anticipation.

 

Mushu sighed. "I just want to sleep. That last hour of Rue kicking my arse wasn't exactly fun."

 

But Katharine was ignoring him. "Yeah why not?" then she grinned. "It'll be fun to actually win a fight for once."

 

Jacob leaped onto Louise’s shoulder. “Pretty sure you’re getting ahead of yourself there.”

 

Katharine sized up the cat, before snorting a laugh. “No, I’m pretty certain I’ll win.”

 

“You didn’t say _when_.”

 

Mushu leapt to the floor. “Enough talking! Let’s get going already!”

 

Five minutes of trying to secure the gauntlets to her arms and Louise was ready to go. She flicked her wrist to disengage the left blade, and nothing happened.

 

Katharine couldn't help laughing at the imposing figure being left clueless at the lack of a response. Louise's head tilted as she turned to look down the wrist area in an attempt to find something to make it work.

 

"They mentioned something about a mechanism, didn't they?" Jacob commented, trying to see but not being much help from his position standing on the ground.

 

As she looked a little closer to the gauntlet beneath her inner wrist, Louise spied a small metal tag that had been placed slightly within the metal. Using her ring finger to pull it away, she found herself having to throw her head back in a bit to stop the blade taking her eye out.

 

“Katharine stop laughing! You’re not helping!” Louise said, finding Katharine entertained by her misfortunes. “I still managed to get it to work!”

 

“You nearly took your eye out.” Mushu replied. “Heavens forbid what the Orcs are going to think of you, injuring yourself more than them.”

 

“Again. Sarcasm. Not helping.”

 

Shifting the mechanism on her arm once more, Louise

 

There was a wince and Mushu glanced over enough to see Louise cradle her hand to her chest.

 

“Okay, Mushu might have been right about the injuring myself more thing.” she said, “I may or may not have just cut my hand on the blades.”

 

“Oh shit. Is it bad?” Katharine was beside her in a flash. There was a nod between the two, which Katharine caught far too late. Too late to stop Jacob from tripping her up.

 

Louise crossed her arms over her chest, staring down at her friend. “Did you really think I was going to let you win that easily?” She reached a hand out - _after_ checking the blades were disengaged - and Katharine used to haul herself to stand once again.

 

She was still spitting grass out of her mouth when she got back onto her feet. “I’m starting to hate that cat.”

 

Rhawthel bounded onto the scene, the Ranger not far behind, and Jacob was already calling for a rematch.

 

And given that Louise was the first open standing, she was the first one to try sparring with her new weapons. Louise couldn’t help the roar of laughter as she engaged the blade and prepared for payback.

* * *

And finally, the date was set: December 24th. All remaining scouts had returned and their path appeared cleared enough. The news had calmed both girls somewhat, yet there was the small anxiety that remained over their journey and the events that were still to come.

 

The night before the departure of the Fellowship left everyone involved contemplating what was to come. The idea that the group of eleven were essentially walking to their deaths was harsh enough for those that didn’t know what the road would throw at them.

 

The pair that _did_ know were still trying to find any way round some of it. Katharine tried finding a logistical way out of each scenario, but each alternative route was shot down by the fact that each new plan had far greater dangers.

 

It didn’t help her mood, and after months of keeping her emotions in check to get ready for the quest, she snapped. Storming away from the last minute meeting at the archery range, Katharine felt everything burn and ache and she just wanted nothing more than to go _home_. But at the same time, she wanted to go and explore; how many chances would she get

 

Louise knocked on Katharine's door less than an hour later, after it seemed appropriate to leave.

 

"Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked, knocking gently on the door. “You’re not pissed I kept winning are you?”

 

There was a small whine of a response. Louise took it as an invitation to come in. Pushing the door open, she found Katharine sitting on her bed, legs crossed beneath her, arms hugging a pillow.

 

Louise's smile was kind and knowing."I take that as a 'no' then?"

 

"And I take _that_ as you feeling the same way?" Katharine mumbled. Louise shut the door before nodding.

 

“It’s just got to that point where it’s just, _hit me_.” Katharine exhaled. “The full force of what we’re going to do.”

 

“We’re all worried,” she began. “But if you think you’re better off staying, then I won’t force you to come.”

 

“I’m fucking coming with you.” she retorted, flinching at her own defence, and fell silent. “Sorry. I - just - uh….” she trailed off, sighing.

 

Louise was at a loss of what to do. What words of comfort could she give when worried about the same thing? "...Do you want a hug?" Louise said, arms opening. Katharine thought about declining for a moment, before moving forward into arm’s reach. Katharine wrapped herself around her friend, the one thing she knew she could count on.

 

There was a moment of stillness, the weight finally reaching further than just the pair and their dæmons.

 

“I’m scared.”

 

Louise slowly closed her eyes, not really anticipating such a response. “Me too.” Katherine's hands clamped down on Louise’s shirt for a second. She only allowed herself a second. There was a watery sniffle from her that she couldn’t keep down, and a whine from Mushu.

 

“Now stop being a stubborn shit, and cry if you need to.” Louise rubbed her back just to give more comfort. “Nobody else is going to see.”

 

And finally, she let herself truly freak out, but it was cathartic. Which gave the needed ideas to begin getting back to herself. “And I’ll let you know that Kia gives much better hugs that you do.”

 

“You know? I’d almost be offended if that wasn’t true.”

 

A small, quiet laugh emitted from somewhere to her right, and Katharine broke the hug. Eyes still full of tears, she held a small smile. It was uncertain, but as she thought about her friend, who had gone out of her way to quell her worries, it was grateful.

 

“Hey, there we go.” Louise smiled back, “and it’s not like you’re going on your own. I’m there with you every step of the way.”

 

“And what about -”

 

“Let’s cross that bridge when we get to it, shall we?” Jacob piped up, knocking his head against Mushu’s.

 

“And besides! We’ve actually got our own weapons now. We’re not just armed with our nerdy brains anymore!”

 

“You maybe.” Katharine scoffed. “I’m pretty sure I’m the only one of us that’s probably running away from an orc and surviving.”

 

Jacob stuck his tongue out, and Louise knew she was teasing. “Yeah you do that. I’m still not doing the runs on Saturday mornings.”

 

They stared at one another, but eventually Katharine caved. “Fine.” she said, pointing at her. “But I _will_ get you to take part eventually.”

 

“Right.” Louise said. “Have you figured out what coat you’re wearing tomorrow? Because let’s be honest, Ezio’s white coat is not going to stay white for long.”

 

I’m pretty sure they’re giving us more stuff to take.” she made a vague gesture to the wardrobe. “I haven’t actually looked at anything yet.”

 

“You might _want_ to, unless you’re fine wearing the same clothes for four months.”

 

Katharine rolled her eyes. “Yes _Mum_.” She didn’t manage to dodge the pillow chucked at her from the bed. But she did manage to throw it back and hit her friend, so Katharine took that as a win.

 

"What have we gotten ourselves into?" she heard Mushu mumble from across the room. “There’s going to be so much _walking_.”

 

“This isn’t the worst we’ve done.” Louise huffed. “And at least you’re not climbing Vesuvius in March.”

 

“Okay, maybe I haven’t messed up _that_ badly.”

* * *

 Luckily for them, the Fellowship wasn’t going to leave until the following afternoon, giving the two plenty of time to both sleep in, and find anything they’d forgotten. Which of course, they had.

 

A final dash to gather their final few things, and mainly trying to find somewhere to leave their belongings; Katharine felt like she wouldn’t need the copious amounts of crap at the bottom of the bag, and Louise wasn’t exactly a fan of the idea of losing her car keys in Moria.

 

Louise picked up the coat once again, the fabric feeling a lot heavier than the last time she'd held it; even with the small crimson shoulder cape now missing (Louise had always thought it looked stupid), it still felt as if there was warming fabrics used. Putting it on, Louise found that was most likely the case given that the fabric in the coat previously wasn’t always the best at keeping out the cold.

 

As the final items were packed away, Louise secretly stuffing her other book in the remaining space (Katharine would thank her later) the door swung open to show Katharine. She was smiling, and a lot more energetic than last night. Which only meant one thing.

 

“You’re in a good mood today.” she mused. “Who did you annoy?”

 

“The cooks, but not the point.”

 

“Cookies?”

 

“Oh _yes_.” She stuffed the last section in her mouth. “It’s my last opportunity and I am going to take advantage of it.”

 

Jacob pouted. “You could have at least saved us some!”

 

They elected to ignore it. “You ready?” Mushu said, headbutting Jacob in a way they thought was

 

“Pretty much!” The cat replied. He took one long look over what Katharine now wore. “Nice to see you’ve dropped the white colour motif.”

 

She shrugged. “It’s more Gandalf’s colour, anyway.”

 

There was a gap in the conversation, and as they both dawdled, staring around the bedroom where they tried to find something to do. But, there was nothing, and the pair found themselves with only the one option: On.

 

“Right okay, there’s no point waiting up here any longer. Shall we?” Katharine asked, reaching down for her bag. Louise inhaled deeply and nodded.

 

“Yes. Let’s.”

* * *

As the women- _girls_ \- descended down the stairs, Boromir noted how they'd prepared themselves out for the journey.  
  
While both wore coats that looked like new, they were practical, Katherine's hosting furs around the shoulders to keep out cold, and both holding what seemed to be practical hoods. They had at least paid attention to their advice.  
  
Louise's hair was pulled back again; given that he could not see it swinging behind her ears he assumed it was in its usual braided bun style. He mentally appraised the decision: easy to keep out of the eyes in a battle and less chance of becoming a hand hold for an enemy in close combat.

 

Arvedui also praised Katharine’s choice of attire. Her jacket had evident furs, and with the winter months now underway, she’d need all the warmth available when sleeping in the wild. The stag secretly envied the heavy furs Jacob displayed, the cat no doubt accustomed to cold weather and now prepared. So much warmer than the armour Arvedui chosen to defend the dæmon; metal did little to insulate heat on a stag.

 

Mushu, while not an ideal choice as the wolf cub at his smaller stature than the stag, would no doubt go unnoticed in an skirmish (hopefully) and was most likely unsettled and may perhaps choose something more suitable later on.

 

(He might keep his suspicions about Mushu’s unsettled nature from Boromir; Eru knows what he’d think.)

 

It seemed the pair had genuinely taken their lessons to heart; although they still had much to learn, the change in just two months was amicable. There was a nagging feeling that it wouldn’t be enough, for both them and the Hobbits.

 

His mood was glum, the girls noticed that first about Boromir, but so was everyone’s to an extent. (Mushu argued that he was miserable all the time.) It was a stark contrast to Merry and Pippin, who were joyful and could be heard from far into the Homely House.

 

They too, were disappointed in Katharine for not bringing any cookies back for the rest of them. Which somehow led to a debate between the two Hobbits about whether giving Mushu chocolate would poison Katharine. (Mushu and Katharine mutually agreed to not try it. Ever.)

 

Gimli and his red wolf, along with Gloin and a breed of dog that they weren’t familiar with eventually joined them; Gloin before long had to withdraw, failing to hide his tears well (until he realised the Elves were staring, and then his demeanour changed into unbridled pride in his son.) Every so often, Gloin’s irritated gaze would be settled towards Legolas and Gaerphen.

 

Legolas stood at some length away from them, his own dæmon circling above as the Elf’s eyes snapped from stairwell, to Fellowship, to the exit of Rivendell and back again. His hair, once unbound at the Council was now pulled tightly back from his face, a thick single plait stretching down his back and pulled back with a strip of fabric akin to a bandana.

 

Gradually the rest of the Fellowship made their way down to where Bill was being packed. The conversation, while pleasant, was merely for the sake of conversation, and mainly covered topics discussed at length before. Only Merry and Pippin talking to Boromir and Gimli managed to find new topics that kept them engaged.

 

Legolas stood at some length away from them, his own dæmon circling above as the Elf’s eyes snapped from stairwell, to Fellowship, to the exit of Rivendell and back again. His hair, once unbound at the Council was now pulled tightly back from his face, a thick single plait stretching down his back and pulled back with a strip of fabric akin to a bandana.

 

As Aragorn and Rhawthel joined them moments later, the eleven were all assembled, and it was more waiting. For Gandalf. As expected.  But gradually, even he, along with Frodo and Sam joined them. It was tense, and there was almost something stifling the conversation.

 

But at what was like four in the afternoon, Lord Elrond stood forward, Sael again wrapped around his shoulders, and the assorted peoples of Middle-Earth (and England) fell silent to listen to him. “The Ringbearer is setting out on a quest to Mount Doom. And to those who go with him,” he announced. “No oath nor bond is laid to go further than you will.” His eyes stayed on Aragorn at long longer than was considered normal.  Katharine caught Sael staring at her and Louise. _Well, okay then._

 

“May the blessings of all Free Folk, go with you.” The boa concluded, and the finalisation settled in. They were actually _going_.

 

Lilly resting near Pippin’s foot appeared to be realising just what they’d let themselves in for. Her glance to Biscuit, Jacob, Mushu and the others told her everyone else was feeling the same. Even Rue, the eloquent direwolf was trying to hide her misgivings.

 

Farewells and thankful gestures were exchanged by Aragorn and Legolas, with a smile tugging at Louise’s lip at Boromir’s bewilderment at the latter.

 

Gandalf gruff old voice brought them back, with a single sentence of “The Fellowship awaits the Ringbearer.” The other ten standing in the clearing all turned to Frodo, who steeled himself, and led them out of Rivendell. One by one, they fell in line behind him; Gandalf first and Aragorn last.

 

But the Fellowship finally departed, and began their trek to Mordor.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After the major delay with the chapter, I have to apologise. But it’s finally here! I also finally came up with a name for Gimli’s dæmon, so now I can add her into more scenes. (I honestly have no idea why it was so difficult, but we got there in the end).
> 
> As always, you’re more than welcome to leave a comment with any feedback (or typical asdfghjkl thoughts) on here, and I always appreciate anyone coming over to my Tumblr (estel-of-the-eyrie.tumblr.com) and having a chat over thoughts and headcanons!


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